site.btaBulgarian Project to Be Presented at 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture

The Bulgarian national project entitled Education is the movement from darkness to light is ready to be exhibited at the 18th Venice Biennale of Architecture, which will be unveiled on May 18, 2023. The Bulgarian entry, which is the first in 15 years, was selected in a national competition organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria and the Union of Architects in Bulgaria.

The opening on May 18 will be attended by the Caretaker Minister of Culture Nayden Todorov.

Alexander Staynov is the commissioner of the project, which was developed by curators Boris Tikvarski, Mariya Gyaurova, Bojidara Valkova of POV Architects and photographed by Belgian Alexander Dumarey. The project looks into the issue of depopulation and abandoned schools in small settlements. The authors believe that such buildings can be given a new life and aim to start a public discussion.

The assembly of the pavilion took one week, during which time the set and video equipment were installed.

The Ministry of Culture was able to rent Sala del Tiziano and its adjacent courtyard as exhibition space until 2025, which is an excellent prerequisite for a successful appearance of Bulgaria in the next Biennale.

Lesley Lokko, curator of the 18th Architecture Exhibition, titled Laboratory of the Future, said: "Like Hemingway, who famously ended each day’s work mid-sentence, The Laboratory of the Future closes with an open-ended question: what next? The Archive of the Future is a visual account of the processes, drawings, discussions, ideas, conversations, old arguments, propositions and new understandings that collectively brought this exhibition to life. The Laboratory of the Future is not didactic. It does not confirm directions, offer solutions, or deliver lessons. Instead, it is intended as a kind of rupture, an agent of change, where the exchange between participant, exhibit and visitor is not passive or predetermined."

The Venice Biennale will take place from May 20 to November 26, 2023, and the pre-opening will be on 18 and 19 May. Bulgaria's participation in the prestigious forum this year is under the auspices of Bulgaria's Vice President Iliana Iotova.