Looking for a new curator for UAE Pavilion in Venice

Lifescapes Beyond Bigness. The UAE’s 2018 Pavilion for the International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. Courtesy National Pavilion UAE.

The National Pavilion UAE has issued an open call for proposals to curate the UAE’s exhibition for the 17th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale, which will run between May and November 2020.

Potential curators – such as architects, designers, artists, historians or researchers with experience working in the UAE or MENASA region – are invited to submit a concept proposal for an exhibition that will explore an intriguing aspect of the UAE’s architecture or built environment and contribute to the understanding of and discourse around architectural practice.

“The curatorship of the National Pavilion UAE’s 2020 exhibition is a prestigious opportunity to research the untold stories of the UAE and share this new knowledge with local and international communities. At the same time, the National Pavilion UAE is a platform for the generation of ground-breaking ideas for the future, offering the UAE the ability to lead a global conversation about urbanism, architecture and living in the modern world. We encourage all interested professionals to apply and join us in making a lasting contribution to the nation,” said Angela Migally, Executive Director, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, commissioner of the National Pavilion UAE.

“By broadening our selection process with this open call, the National Pavilion UAE is seeking out diverse perspectives and new voices who will build on our reputation for presenting thoughtful and deeply-researched architectural exhibitions,” said Laila Binbrek, Co-ordinating Director of the National Pavilion UAE. “We are looking for a curatorial theme that advances a point of view on critical themes in architecture and urban development, and also unearths and reflects on the UAE’s heritage or contemporary discourse in a creative and globally-relevant way.” 

Concept proposals should present the exhibition’s curatorial theme and approach through a clear narrative that contextualizes the idea within the local, regional and global industry discussions as well as previous National Pavilion UAE exhibitions.

UAE citizens, residents of the UAE and international applicants who can demonstrate local expertise, experience and understanding are all eligible to apply, individually or as teams. 

Applications will close at midnight UAE time (GMT+4) on 31 October 2018. Selected finalists will be invited to present a full proposal for the second round of the process. Full details and submission guidelines are available on http://nationalpavilionuae.org/open-call/

The National Pavilion UAE is commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development. The current exhibition, Lifescapes Beyond Bigness, highlights the interplay between the urban environment and everyday social life in the UAE through images, technical drawings, case studies, maps and three-dimensional scale models. The exhibition was curated by Dr. Khaled Alawadi, an Emirati architect and urban planner and Assistant Professor of Sustainable Urbanism at Abu Dhabi’s Masdar Institute part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology , and is on show until 25 November 2018.