The National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia
Venice Architecture Biennale, 2023
The Challenge
The Architecture and Design Commission of the Ministry of Culture sought to commission a team to curate and design the National Pavilion of Saudi Arabia for the Venice Biennale 2023. The appointment was received in January 2023, with the opening of the Pavilion set for May 2023. The Saudi Pavilion will run until November of the same year, complemented with public programming to be staged in various architecture and design festivals around the world.
The Approach
&bouqu's co-founders Basma Bouzo and Noura Bouzo were appointed as the lead curators of the pavilion, with Strategy Director, Jou Pabalate serving as the assistant curator, alongside Cyril Zammit and Architect AlBara Saimaldahar. The team curated an exhibition based on materiality and the grassroot perspectives and initiatives existing in Saudi Arabia.
As part of their mandate, the team developed the architectural design, visitor's journey, exhibition display and layouting of the pavilion, in addition to developing the public programming and catalog content development.