YEREVAN-TOURINFO- According to the RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports spokesperson, Armenia will be represented at the 17th Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia which will run from 23 May to 29 November 2020 (pre-opening 21 and 22 May), curated by architect and scholar Hashim Sarkis.

“No one knows this better than the Armenians the current international refugee crisis, Armenians have been on both sides of the narrative – both the refugees and those taking in refugees. Through this pavilion, Armenia is saying that we have experienced both. Learn from Armenians as a case study – they have learned we have to embrace each other and live together”.

As the ministry of education, science, culture, and sport reported, Tina Shakaryan has been appointed as the coordinator of the Armenian pavilion at the exhibition. For the pavilion design and exhibits and the selection of architects, the ministry plans to announce an open call. In a press conference on 16 July 2019, the Biennale President Paolo Baratta, and curator Hashim Sarkis announced the title of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition: How will we live together?

Hashim Sarkis explained his choice as follows:

“We need a new spatial contract. In the context of widening political divides and growing economic inequalities, we call on architects to imagine spaces in which we can generously live together: together as human beings who, despite our increasing individuality. Yearn to connect with one another and with other species across digital and real space; together as new households looking for more diverse and dignified spaces for inhabitation; together as emerging communities that demand equity, inclusion and spatial identity; together across political borders to imagine new geographies of association, and together as a planet facing crises that require global action for us to continue living at all.
The year 2020 has often been referred to as a milestone on the path to a better future. Many nations and cities have devised a ‘Vision 2020.’ The year is upon us. We look to the collective architectural imagination to meet this momentous occasion with creativity and courage.”