Venice Biennale 2023 Fellowship
Project
Venice Biennale Fellowship 2023
Location
Venice, Italy
Partners
British Council, Green For Grenfell, The British Pavilion Curatorial Team
We are passionate about making world leading cultural experiences accessible to hidden talent. In 2023 Beyond The Box were the first of two small creative practices to be accepted as partners on the British Council’s Venice Fellowship Programme, traditionally partners are large educational institutions.
The fellowship programme was initiated in 2014 by the British Council to strengthen the Great Britain pavilion contribution as a platform for ideas and research. The programme is an exciting opportunity for creative individuals, students, researchers, artists and professionals at the start of their careers, to spend a month in Venice, during the world’s most important art and architecture biennales.
La biennale di Venezia has been, for over 120 years, one of the most prestigious cultural Institutions in the world. Established in 1895, the biennale has an attendance today of over 500,000 visitors at the Art exhibition. The history of the la Biennale di Venezia dates back from 1895, when the first international art exhibition was organised. In the 1930s new festivals were born: Music, cinema, and theatre (the Venice Film festival in 1932 was the first film Festival in history). In 1980 the first international architecture exhibition took place, and in 1999 dance made its debut at la biennale.
We opened up applications for young and emerging creatives in our network to apply to the month long fellowship in Venice, inviting them to submit their research ideas. Dhelia Snoussi was successful in securing the fellowship with Beyond The Box.
Dhelia is a curator and researcher from Ladbroke Grove, West London. She is currently Youth Culture Curator at the Museum of London working on the contemporary collecting programme, Curating London.
Previously, Dhelia had worked as a researcher at the Runnymede Trust and Digital Curator at satellite films. In 2022, she was one of twelve curators selected for the Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator. In 2023, Dhelia is developing a research project with the International Curators Forum exploring themes of sound and regeneration.
The British Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2023 turns green for Grenfell.
Green For Grenfell
June 14 2023 was the 6th anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. To mark this occasion and stand in solidarity with the Grenfell community, the curators of the exhibition Dancing Before the Moon for the British Pavilion partnered with Green for Grenfell to host a lighting installation that will see the building illuminated green - the colour that has become a symbol representing hope and solidarity for those impacted by the tragedy of the fire. Inside the pavilion in the main hall (a space designed for congregation and sharing), a programme of short films, archival material, animation and photography will be screened, showcasing work from local artists connected to Grenfell and West London.
The event has been curated by Dhelia Snoussi as part of her fellowship for the Venice Architecture Biennale with Beyond The Box, and the film programme was curated by Toby Laurent-Belson representing Green for Grenfell.
In today’s turbulent political landscape where priorities and headlines are constantly shifting, cultural spaces play a vital role in ensuring the story of Grenfell is not forgotten and that its long term fight for justice and reparation is heard. The themes of rituals and spatial equity in this year’s British Pavilion exhibition Dancing Before the Moon are pertinent to the cultural demands for change taking place around Grenfell Tower, Trellick Tower and the Westway in West London. This installation aims to shine light on an exhibition presenting a healthier future for architecture.
Grenfell United said: “The loss of life at Grenfell was unimaginable. Six years on, we now know it was completely avoidable. 72 people died at the hands of greed and corruption. Those responsible want to bury this tragedy and the families continue to battle a justice system protecting the powerful. We must not forget Grenfell, those responsible must be held accountable for the 72 people who lost their lives.”
Green for Grenfell said: “The survivors and bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower tragedy have fought tirelessly over the last six years to create a legacy for the 72 innocent men, women and children who lost their lives, to ensure they are remembered not for what happened, but for what changed. We are very grateful for the curators of Dancing Before the Moon at the British Pavilion, showing their solidarity on the 6th anniversary. It’s these important moments which help keep Grenfell in people’s hearts and minds.”
The curators of Dancing Before the Moon Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay, Jayden Ali and Sumitra Upham said: “We stand in solidarity with the community of Grenfell whose lives were irrevocably changed by the fatal fire on June 14 2017. This tragedy was a result of systemic negligence and injustices rooted in architecture, policy and building industry. This pavilion stands to support communities who have been excluded from discussions around the planning of the built environment in the UK. We wanted to use the pavilion to support Grenfell’s ongoing battle for justice and provide space to amplify the voices of their community and its creative outputs”
The event was made possible through the generous support of; AHMM, Asif Khan, BEYOND the BOX CIC, Conran & Partners, Crispin Kelly, London Practice Forum and Davina Mallinckrodt.
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Green for Grenfell at the British Pavilion in Venice
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Green for Grenfell at the British Pavilion in Venice
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Green for Grenfell at the British Pavilion in Venice
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Green for Grenfell at the British Pavilion in Venice
2023 British Pavilion Curatorial Team and Exhibition
The curatorial team selected is Jayden Ali, Joseph Henry, Meneesha Kellay and Sumitra Upham. The 2023 exhibition will explore how Britain's diaspora organise and navigate space through rituals. Commissions will investigate materials and making techniques that
reflect a diversity of cultural expression, behaviour and tradition and imagine alternative futures. The appointed team said: “How can we ensure more people are reflected in the architecture of Britain? This question is central to the curation of the 2023 British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.
A series of spatial interventions by an emerging generation of artists and architects of the global diaspora in Britain will transform the pavilion into a portal for imagining a future for British architecture where rituals are central to new forms of spatial practice.”
The exhibition design intends to embrace construction methods and processes that avoid exploiting people and the planet. The curators will collaborate with architectural practitioners, artists, and makers.
