Lesley Lokko Announces 'The Laboratory of the Future' as 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale Theme
Lesley Lokko has revealed that the theme for the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale, set to commence on 20 May 2023, will be 'The Laboratory of the Future.' This theme delves into how emerging technologies expose the lives of distant communities and foster a 'double consciousness' among colonized populations, drawing inspiration from W. E. B. Du Bois and Franz Fanon. Lokko emphasized that Africa serves as a focal point for worldwide challenges related to equity, race, hope, and fear. A native of Dundee, she has a Ghanaian father and a Scottish Jewish mother, and pursued her studies at Oxford and The Bartlett in London. In 2020, she established the African Futures Institute and has written twelve novels, with a thirteenth expected in 2023. In 2019, she stepped down from her role as dean at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture after one year.
Key facts
- Lesley Lokko revealed the title 'The Laboratory of the Future' for the Venice Architecture Biennale
- The 18th edition opens to the public on 20 May 2023
- Lokko referenced W. E. B. Du Bois and Franz Fanon's concept of 'double consciousness'
- She stated 'At an anthropological level, we are all African'
- Lokko is founder and director of the African Futures Institute in Accra, established in 2020
- She previously established the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg
- Lokko has authored 12 novels since 2004, with a 13th forthcoming in 2023
- She left as dean of the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture in New York after one year in 2019
Entities
Artists
- Lesley Lokko
- W. E. B. Du Bois
- Franz Fanon
Institutions
- Venice Architecture Biennale
- African Futures Institute
- University of Johannesburg
- The Bartlett
- Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture
- The Guardian
- Oxford
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Accra
- Ghana
- Dundee
- Scotland
- United Kingdom
- London
- New York
- United States