Portuguese Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale: Public Without Rhetoric

Portugal will be represented at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale with a project titled Public Without Rhetoric curated by Nuno Brandão Costa and Sérgio Mah.

This exhibition brings together 12 public building projects created by Portuguese architects, whose construction was completed between 2007 and 2017, a decade ravaged by the severe financial and economic crisis in Portugal. However, despite the sharp decline in levels of public investment, it was possible to move forward with the construction of a significant number of high-quality public buildings, which now symbolise the resilience of certain areas of decision-making, at a central, regional, local and institutional level.

These projects, which ran counter to the general trend, saw the involvement of some of the foremost Portuguese architects. The discipline’s characteristic passion, charisma and voluntary spirit was enhanced and became associated with a very clear understanding of the social and political role of architecture, despite a highly adverse environment for its practice. This exhibition features two parts, each providing a different way of representing and approaching the perception of architecture. In the main rooms on the first floor we find the conventional means used to represent and disseminate architecture: technical drawings, models and photographs. Downstairs, meanwhile, in the corridor that joins up with the palace atrium, 12 films are being shown about each of the selected works, made by four Portuguese artists who were invited to explore the current state of the construction projects, including the modes of appropriation and the experiential dynamics of people who, whether on a regular or more sporadic basis, are making the public mission of those very works a reality.

List of Works
Arquipélago - Center for Contemporary Arts, São Miguel (Azores)
João Mendes Ribeiro and -é+

Public Library and Regional Archives, Angra do Heroísmo (Azores)
Inês Lobo

Olivier Debré Contemporary Art Centre, Tours
Aires Mateus e Associados

Gruta das Torres Visitor Centre, Pico (Azores)
SAMI

Municipio Metro Station, Naples
Álvaro Siza, Eduardo Souto Moura and Tiago Figueiredo

Hangar Nautical Centre, Montemor-o-Velho
Miguel Figueira

I.S, Institute of Innovation and Research in Health, Porto
Serôdio Furtado Associados

Douro Breakwaters, Foz do Douro, Porto
Carlos Prata

Park Pavilions for Albarquel Urban Park, Setúbal
Ricardo Bak Gordon

Pavillions for the exhibition
Live Uncertainty: an Exhibition after the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo, Serralves Foundation
Depa, Diogo Aguiar Studio, FAHR 021.3, Fala Atelier and Ottotto

Thalia Theatre, Lisbon
Gonçalo Byrne and Barbas Lopes Arquitectos

Lisbon Cruise Ship Terminal, Lisbon
João Luís Carrilho da Graça

Invited artists:
André Cepeda
Catarina Mourão
Nuno Cera
Salomé Lamas
 

Opening hours
May 26 to November 25, 10am to 6pm
Closed on Mondays, except May 28, August 13, September 3 and November 19

For further information: 
International Press Office
The Link PR, press@thelinkpr.it
Greta Ruffino, T +39 339 1617953
Giovanna Tissi, T +39 347 7971873

Directorate-General for the Arts
comunicacao@dgartes.pt, T +351 21 150 70 10
www.dgartes.gov.pt, Facebook, Instagram

Organization:
Ministry of Culture of Portugal

Commissioner:
Directorate-General for the Arts