Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA): Not for Sale!

From May 20–November 26, 2023, the Not for Sale! exhibition will be at the Canada Pavilion in Venice. Curated by the collective Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA), the exhibition constitutes the official participation from Canada, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts as the Commissioner.

Not for Sale! draws attention to the housing crisis being experienced by many communities across Canada, and to the impact of real estate speculation that converts homes into financial assets, aggravating a range of issues including a general lack of affordability, precarious housing, and homelessness.

As a rallying call for the architectural community, Not for Sale! is an invitation to work collaboratively within community environments to find creative, viable, ecological, and sustainable solutions. It proposes that the housing crisis is a severing of three forms of essential connection: to the land, to social ties, and to the ability to creatively shape our environment.

Ahead of the move to Venice, the AAHA collective and their growing network of collaborators have begun sharing related content about their campaign online at aaha.ca.

Throughout the Biennale, the AAHA collective will work with ten interdisciplinary and geographically dispersed teams. These teams are comprised of community organizations, supporters of non-alienated housing, and architects.

Visitors to the Pavilion will be able to engage with those working on the ground to learn how to contribute to the development of sustainable solutions to housing affordability.

“The presentation of the AAHA collective’s Not For Sale! exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia highlights crucial issues related to affordable housing access in Canada. It reminds us that architecture is an art and practice that can choose to engage in concrete dialogue with social movements and by doing so contribute to the advent of a better world. The analyses, ideas and proposals that will be presented and developed in Venice by AAHA are part of an international drive for just and sustainable human development as an alternative to the greed, plunder, and exclusion that globalization promotes. Art and architecture are once again called to the bedside of a society that is suffering from destructive drifts and I am convinced that this is a source of hope and comfort that we all need.” —Simon Brault, Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts.

“We believe that the roots of the housing crisis lie in the capitalist and colonialist dispossession of people from their land and homes. In Canada, this started with the appropriation of land from Indigenous peoples and the transformation of homes into commodities, objects of real estate speculation rather than places defined by deep community and cultural ties. We are witnessing the consequences of dispossession today. We are fighting for a system of housing that is fairer; we are showcasing not only the fundamental aspects of the housing crisis but also proposals for positive change--ways of legislating, financing, and designing that empower communities. We hope that the projects we show in Venice and our campaign at large will educate and inspire not only Canadians but people all over the globe impacted by the housing crisis.” —Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA) collective.

About the Curators in the AAHA Collective
The collective Architects Against Housing Alienation (AAHA) was formed and came together to communally shape a grassroots architectural movement founded on shared principles and intentions to put an end to housing alienation. The biographies of the founding members of AAHA Adrian Blackwell, David Fortin, Matthew Soules, Sara Stevens, Patrick Stewart, and Tijana Vujosevic, are available online from the Canada Council’s website.

About the Commissioner, The Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic endeavours through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations. Its work ensures that unique, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages persons from across Canada, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communication, research and arts promotion activities.

The Canada Council has proudly supported Canada’s representation at the International Art and Architecture Exhibition organized by La Biennale di Venezia for many years. As part of its commitment to enhance the presence and profile of professional artists from Canada abroad, the Canada Council for the arts contributes 500,000 CAD towards the exhibition production.

Web and social media
Architects Against Housing Alienation website: aaha.ca / Email: info [​at​] aaha.ca / Campaign hashtags: #NotForSaleAAHA; #PasàVendreAAHA / Canada Council for the Arts website: canadacouncil.ca.