Abu Dhabi: The National Pavilion UAE la Biennale di Venezia will be participating in the 15th International Architecture Exhibition in Italy for the second time from May 28 to November 27, 2016.
An exhibition titled The Emirati National House highlighting the transformation of the Emirati National House, also known as Sha’abi (folk) house, will be presented at the la Biennale di Venezia as part of the international exhibition.
Yasser Al Sheshtawy, curator for the National Pavilion United Arab Emirates (UAE) la Biennale di Venezia said, “This exploration of Emirati Sha’abi housing responds to the Biennale’s theme, which reflects on the ways in which the built environment can be formed to improve people’s quality of life.”
The National Pavilion UAE la Biennale di Venezia is commissioned by the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development.
Khulood Al Atiyat, projects manager for Arts, Culture and Heritage at the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation said, “For our second participation in the International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, we are proud that the National Pavilion UAE will explore the evolution of this element of local architectural heritage.
“As the UAE emerges as a global centre for arts and culture, the National Pavilion UAE la Biennale di Venezia continues its commitment to further the arts and architectural practices of the UAE by facilitating a dialogue with the international community through its exhibitions.
National houses are found in residential neighbourhoods of cities in the UAE. Initially designed in the 1970s, they were implemented throughout the 1970s and 1980s, to offer homes and modern amenities to a transient local population. The standard housing layout is composed of a series of rooms overlooking a central square courtyard, and has proved to be highly adaptable as Emirati families’ lifestyles evolved. Many National, or Sha’abi, houses today show evidence of a cumulative accretion of various architectural elements over the years, a process of transformation from a basic model to individualised homes, which have become an important component of the etymology of the UAE’s built environment.
The inaugural participation of the UAE at the International Art Exhibition at le Biennale di Venezia commenced in 2009 and has continued in each art exhibition.
2014 marked the UAE’s first participation in the International Architecture Exhibition in its 14th edition, with an exhibition titled Lest We Forget: Structures of Memory in the UAE, curated by Dr Michele Bambling. The 2015 exhibition, 1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates, curated by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, was a retrospective on contemporary art exhibitions in the Emirates over the last 40 years through an unprecedented grouping of over 100 works.
The 56th International Art Exhibition at la Biennale di Venezia ran from May 9 to November 22, 2015 and received over 500,000 visitors. 1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates will now return to the UAE where it will be hosted at the Sharjah Art Foundation between February 20 to May 20, 2016.
