Lesley Lokko curates 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale 'The Laboratory of the Future'

Lesley Lokko, the Ghanaian-Scottish architect, academic, and writer, has been appointed curator of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, titled 'The Laboratory of the Future'. She is the first curator directly appointed by President Roberto Cicutto. Lokko, founder and director of the African Futures Institute in Accra, will center the exhibition on Africa, the world's youngest continent, as a privileged viewpoint to examine global architecture. She argues that Africa is where issues of equity, resources, race, hope, and fear converge, and that what happens in Africa affects everyone. The Biennale runs from May 20 to November 26, 2023, at the Giardini and Arsenale. Lokko envisions the exhibition as a workshop or bottega artigiana, where architects and creative professionals present examples from their contemporary practices for visitors to imagine the future. She emphasizes architecture's power to influence how we see the world. The announcement coincides with Diébédo Francis Kéré becoming the first African architect to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize. Lokko's selection reflects a broader shift away from Euro-American centrism in architecture. Specific content, sections, invited architects, and guidelines for national pavilions remain undisclosed.