THERME GROUP AND THERME ART SUPPORT THE BRITISH COUNCIL AT THE BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 2023

Therme Group and Therme Art are proud to announce their support of the British Council’s 2023 British Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, marking their fifth year in consecutive partnership at both Venice Art and Architecture Biennials.

This year – in response to the broader theme of the Biennale Architettura 2023, The Laboratory of the Future – the British Pavilion presents Dancing Before the Moon, an exhibition comprising the new work of six artists and designers, as well as a film and soundscape. The exhibition, curated for the British Council by Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay and Sumitra Upham, will be open to the public from 20 May until 26 November 2023. It explores the concept of everyday rituals, including cooking and dancing, as mechanisms through which diasporic communities can establish spaces of belonging and encourage new lenses through which to reflect on architecture and the built environment.

Yussef Agbo Ali, Nono, Soil Temple, Palais de Tokyo, 2022

A group of UK-based artists and architects will transform the British Pavilion with a series of installations representing the possible future of British architecture, in which spaces are delineated by a celebration of community and social practices. The entrance of the pavilion will be marked by an exterior installation by Jayden Ali, followed by a cinematic installation in the main hall of the pavilion, acknowledging the key role that ritual plays in articulating the values and traditions of diverse communities living across the UK.

Shawanda Corbett Neighbourhood Garden, 2020, Courtesy the Artist and Corvi-Mora London, Photo Marcus Leith

The galleries of the pavilion will present objects by five UK-based artists and architects: Yussef Agbo-Ola, Mac Collins, Shawanda Corbett, Madhav Kidao and Sandra Poulson. The objects place particular emphasis on materials and making, as an exploration of cultural practices worldwide that influence spaces and environments. Dancing Before the Moon showcases a variety of creative disciplines aiming to expand on the notion of architecture as a practice fundamentally shaped by people and communities.

 “The British Pavilion at the Biennale Architettura 2023 is a space for rethinking the role that people play in shaping the built environment. It demonstrates the need for architecture to look beyond buildings and economic structures and towards everyday social practices, customs and traditions in order to meaningfully reflect how people use and occupy space,” say curators Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay and Sumitra Upham.

Speaking on the enduring partnership with the British Council, Founder and CEO of Therme Group Dr. Robert C. Hanea says, “To see six talented artists from diasporic backgrounds coming together to honour their community’s rituals and traditions demonstrate a key shift in our cultural values. This is precisely the forms of reflective architectural spaces that Therme Group supports, ones that empower diverse communities and personal expression.”

Nebbia Works (Madhav Kidao) Pavilion at the V&A, 2021, credit Nebbia Works

Speaking on the enduring partnership with the British Council, Founder and CEO of Therme Group Dr. Robert C. Hanea says, “To see six talented artists from diasporic backgrounds coming together to honour their community’s rituals and traditions, demonstrates a key shift in our cultural values. These are precisely the forms of reflective architectural spaces that Therme Group supports, ones that empower diverse communities and personal expression.”

The British Council is a valued member of Therme Group’s network of partner organisations that aims to extend Therme Art’s mission of supporting open dialogues on creating sustainable solutions for future cities through innovations in art and architecture.

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide. We do this through our work in arts and culture, education and the English language. We work with people in over 200 countries and territories and are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.

About the Curators

Jayden Ali, Founding Director of interdisciplinary practice JA Projects and a Senior Lecturer at Central Saint Martins; Joseph Henry is a designer and urbanist, co-founder of platform Sound Advice and is the Capital Development Manager in the Culture and Creative Industries Team at the Greater London Authority; Meneesha Kellay is a curator and commissioner, currently Senior Curator, Contemporary Programme at the V&A; and Sumitra Upham is a curator and writer, currently Head of Programmes at the Crafts Council.