THE BIENNIAL
The Chicago Architecture Biennial is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to creating an international forum on architecture and urbanism through the production of distinctive exhibitions and public programs. The Biennial creates new opportunities every two years for emerging talent in architecture, design, and the arts to engage a wide public audience.
Explore how architecture shapes our communities, cities and environment. The third edition of the Biennial, open 19 September 2019 – 5 January 2020, is particularly inspired by Chicago, moving beyond the grand narratives of the city’s architectural heritage to explore the history and conditions that have and continue to shape its urban development. With a broader view on the field of architecture, it embraces practices that span building, design, planning, visual art, policymaking, education, and activism.
Emanating from the central exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center and extending into the city, the 2019 Biennial — titled … and other such stories — features a series of new commissions, residencies, partner projects, and public programs.
Developed through a research-led approach and led by Artistic Director Yesomi Umolu with curators
Sepake Angiama and Paulo Tavares, the biennial addresses the potency of space, architecture, and the natural world as they relate to four areas of inquiry: (1) No Land Beyond, which draws inspiration from indigenous approaches to nature, ecology, and landscape that transcend property ownership; (2) Appearances and Erasures, which explores both shared and contested memories in consideration of monuments, memorials, and social histories; and (3) Rights and Reclamations and (4) Common Ground, which foreground aspects of rights, advocacy, and civic purpose in architectural practice, including affordable and equitable housing.
The inaugural 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial — presented in partnership with the City of Chicago and the Graham Foundation — was the manifestation of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s vision for a major international architectural event and an outcome of the comprehensive cultural plan developed by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events under the leadership of Michelle T. Boone. Curated by Joseph Grima and Sarah Herda (2015) and Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee (2017), the previous editions each welcomed over half a million visitors and collectively engaged over 250 leaders in architecture and art from more than 60 cities spanning 38 nations.
