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2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture: Shortlist

The Canada Council for the Arts is pleased to announce the shortlist of candidates in the running to represent Canada at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, from May 24 to November 23, 2025.

Those shortlisted have been invited to fully develop their proposals and to participate in an interview with the Commissioner and members of the selection committee.

The selected team and proposal will be announced in May 2024.

See the 2025 shortlist

2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture

The Canada Council for the Arts invited exhibition proposals for Canada’s official representation at the 19th International Architecture ExhibitionLa Biennale di Venizia, which is set to take place from May to November 2025 at the Canada Pavilion, in Venice. The Biennale is a prestigious exhibition and an international platform that engages critical conversations about contemporary architecture that attracts 300,000 visitors.

The Canada Council is looking for proposals with bold ideas that inspire, challenge and respond to current realities through the lens of contemporary Canadian architecture.

Shortlisted candidates from the call for expressions of interest, with a deadline of November 15, 2023, will be invited to fully develop their proposal and take part in an interview with the selection committee. The selected team and proposal will be announced in May 2024.

About the Venice Biennale of Architecture 

The Venice Biennale is and has been one of the most important cultural institutions in the world since 1895. The International Architecture Exhibition consists of a central exhibition with over 100 international participants, 60 national pavilions and collateral events throughout the city. It is a prestigious exhibition and international platform that engages critical conversations about contemporary architecture—among them architects, artists, designers, critics, politicians, students, and cultural leaders from around the world.

About the Commissioner, the Canada Council for the Arts

The Canada Council for the Arts is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. The Council champions and invests in artistic excellence through a broad range of grants, services, prizes and payments to professional Canadian artists and arts organizations. Its work ensures that excellent, vibrant and diverse art and literature engages Canadians, enriches their communities and reaches markets around the world. The Council also raises public awareness and appreciation of the arts through its communications, research and arts promotion activities.

The Canada Council has proudly supported Canada’s representation at the Venice Biennale for many years. Continuing its commitment to enhance the presence and profile of Canadian artists and arts professionals abroad, the Canada Council, as Commissioner, oversees Canada’s official participation and contributes $500,000 towards the exhibition production.

2023    Not for Sale!

Curator: Architects Against Housing Alienation

2021    Impostor Cities

Curator: David Theodore, Presenter: T B A / Thomas Balaban Architect

2018    UNCEDED

Curators: Gerald McMaster, David Fortin, Presenter: Douglas Cardinal Architect

2016    Extraction 

Curator: OPSYS │ Pierre Bélanger

2014    Arctic Adaptations: Nunavut at 15

Curator: Lateral Office │ Lola Sheppard, Mason White, Matthew Spremulli

2012    Migrating Landscape

Curators: 5468796 Architecture + Jae Sung Chon

2010    Hylozoic Ground

Exhibitor: Philip Beesley Architect Inc.

2008    41° to 66°: Architecture in Canada – Region, Culture, Tectonics

Curators: John McMinn, Marco Polo, Presenter: Cambridge Galleries

2006    SweaterLodge

Curators: Chris Macdonald, Greg Bellerby, Presenter: Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Exhibitor: Pechet and Robb Studio

2004    Found Object

Curator: Georges Adamczyk, Exhibitor: Saucier & Perrotte Architectes

2002    Next Memory City 

Curators: Michael Awad, John Knechtal, Presenters: InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre and Alphabet City, Exhibitors: Michael Awad, Eve Egoyan, David Rokeby

2000    Un dictionnaire ...  

Curator: Phyllis Lambert, Presenter: Canadian Centre for Architecture, Exhibitor: Melvin Charney

The selection committee for the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture is comprised of the following members:

  • Aziza Chaouni, architect, principal, Aziza Chaouni Projects (Toronto │ Morocco) │ associate professor, John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario)
  • David Garneau (Métis), painter, curator and critical art writer │ professor, Visual Arts Department, University of Regina (Regina, Saskatchewan)
  • Daniel Pearl, architect, principal, L’OEUF Architectes (Montréal) │ Professor, School of Architecture, University of Montréal (Montréal, Quebec)
  • Siamak Hariri, architect, founding partner, Hariri Pontarini Architects (Toronto, Ontario)
  • Sepake Angiama, curator and educator │ artistic director, Institute for International Visual Art (London, United Kingdom)

For more information

venicebiennale@canadacouncil.ca

1-800-263-5588