The Australian Institute of Architects Curatorial Committee for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale is thrilled to announce the shortlist for Creative Director of the Australia Pavilion. From an impressive 21 entries, the following four groups have been selected to present their extended proposals:
– Jessica Spresser and Peter Besley, Redux
– Ian Strange, Fleur Watson and Jon Clements, Precarious Actions – The Marked Home
– Georgia Birks, Ewan McEoin, Rachel Nolan, Dr Timothy Moore, and Ross Harding, A New Normal
– Jack Gillmer, Emily McDaniel, and Michael Mossman, Home
Each of these shortlisted teams will now prepare an extended response and present their vision to the Curatorial Committee. One winner will be selected to lead Australia’s participation at the Venice Biennale, the premier international architectural forum, where the world’s leading architecture is showcased.
“The 2025 Venice Biennale Curatorial Committee’s vision is to tell a rich and engaging story, showcase original ideas and describe the depth of our architectural expertise.
“It also provides the opportunity to promote the value of architecture nationally within Australia,” says Jane Cassidy, National President of the Institute and member of the Curatorial Committee.
The 2025 Venice Biennale Curatorial Committee aims to present an Australian Exhibition that tells a rich, engaging story, responding to this year’s theme, while demonstrating the depth of Australian architectural expertise. The Committee envisions an exhibition that not only resonates on the global stage but also extends its impact nationally through subsequent exhibitions or activities in Australia in 2026.
The announcement of the selected Creative Director will take place in October 2024, and the highly anticipated Australian Exhibition will open to the world on 8 May 2025.
ABOUT THE 19TH INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITION – LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2025
The Venice Architecture Biennale is the premier international forum for architectural discourse and innovation, attracting participants and visitors from across the globe. The Biennale offers a unique platform for architects to present groundbreaking work and ideas on an international stage.
Curated by the architect and engineer Carlo Ratti, the 19th International Architecture Exhibition will be about the built environment and the many disciplines that shape it. Architecture is at the cente – but not alone. It is part of an extended sphere that integrates art, engineering, biology, data science, social and political sciences, planetary systems sciences, and other disciplines – linking each and all of them to the materiality of urban space.
With the aim to reintroduce a degree of coordination and coherence with the theme of the main International Exhibition among the National Pavilions, Mr Ratti encourages the participating countries to address the common prompt of “One place, one solution”, showcasing how local ingenuity can address our time’s existential challenge that can only be tackled in a cooperative manner, reflecting a multiplicity of approaches. “If every country brings one success to the table, together we can assemble a global kit for adapting to the future,” says Mr Carlo Ratti.
ABOUT THE AUSTRALIA PAVILION
The Australia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale provides an opportunity to showcase Australia’s most innovative architectural ideas and practices to the world, enhancing the global standing of Australian architecture while creating connections with both international and Australian audiences.
The Australia Pavilion is also used for the Venice Biennale Arts Festival held on alternative bi-annual dates to the architecture festival. In 2024, First Nations artist Archie Moore was named the recipient of the coveted Golden Lion for best national pavilion at Venice, marking the first time in history that an Australian has received the accolade. The title of the installation, ‘kith and kin’, draws on Old English terms for family and countrymen and extends the Aboriginal notion of kinship systems to include the “kith” of all humankind.
The Australian Institute of Architects is commissioned by Creative Australia to participate in the Venice Biennale. For the 2025 Venice Biennale, the Institute has engaged Creative Australia in an expanded producer role across the Architecture and Art Biennales supporting Creative Director(s) with pavilion management and local procurement.
SHORTLISTED TEAMS
Jack Gilmer, Emily McDaniel, and Michael Mossman – Home
