From Venice to Shenzhen: The Localization of a Global Biennale Model

Monica Naso, Huishu Deng, Valeria Federighi, Francesca Frassoldati

2019

Naso, Monica, Huishu Deng, Valeria Federighi and Francesca Frassoldati. 2019. “From Venice to Shenzhen: The Localization of a Global Biennale Model”. New Architecture, no. 182 (1): 46-51.

ISSN 1000-3959

“Biennials are commonly considered tools used in neo-liberal economies to foster the image of the “creative city” worlwide. Venice Biennale could be considered as a basic paradigm for the creation of such exhibitionary system in both conceptual and spatial design aspects: following its foundation, many cities created their own -ennials exhibitions. Since 1990s, moreover, Asia and China are witnessing a great increase in the number of exhibitions of such kind. What is the relationship between what is considered a global phenomenon and its reinterpretation in a local context? What kind of practices and relationships does it imply? Biennial exhibition is considered here as a “worlding practice” and as a vector of exchange in cross-cultural contexts, a situated experiment adopted by host cities trying to negotiate their position in the global circuit and trying to test new ways of participating in the “creative” debate. The article will examine two dimensions of this dialogue: on one side, how Chinese architects became familiar with the model of Venice Biennale; on the other side, how the global model of Venice Biennale has been borrowed and adapted by a local Chinese biennial, Shenzhen UABB – Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture. ”