Russian Pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale Goes Digital with Open? Platform

Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, curator of the Russian Pavilion for the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale (postponed to 2021), transformed the physical exhibition into a digital platform called Open? after the COVID-19 pandemic forced event cancellations. The decision was made six weeks before the Biennale's official postponement, allowing greater editorial flexibility. The online platform, supervised by commissioner Teresa Iarocci Mavica and supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture, features a chronological schedule of content running through end of 2020, including the VOICES program in collaboration with e-flux—a collection of positions on cultural institutions' present and future. A video game by Mikhail Maximov offers a post-apocalyptic journey through the pavilion. Laparelli, founder of studio 2050+, emphasized the platform's design for conscious data use, avoiding live streaming to combat 'digital obesity.' He discussed the environmental impact of data infrastructure, noting that data centers account for 2% of global emissions, equal to aviation. The project reimagines the national pavilion as a long-term institution rather than a temporary container, reflecting on cultural institutions' roles during global crises. Laparelli, who previously curated Manifesta 12 in Palermo, critiqued the biennial model for being market-driven and introverted, advocating for more flexible temporalities like Documenta's five-year cycle.