International Programme
Venice Architecture Biennale 2020: Open Call #1 Public parallel programme for the Dutch pavilion
Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL jointly launch an Open Call inviting researchers and designers in the fields of architecture, urban design, and landscape to submit projects for the public parallel programme of the Dutch pavilion during the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in 2020.
Since its foundation in 2013, Het Nieuwe Instituut has been the Netherlands' official commissioner for the Venice Architecture Biennale, promoting substantive contributions to the field by stimulating innovative research into urgent social issues in which architecture can play a key role. In 2020, the Dutch pavilion will exhibit the results of a collective and speculative study by architects, artists, designers and researchers who together form part of a larger national and international network exploring the issue of how we live together. The exhibition is accompanied by a dynamic parallel programme that takes place at different times and locations.
Multispecies Urbanism
The title of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020 is the question - How will we live together? Curator Hashim Sarkis explains, "We need a new spatial contract in the context of widening political divides and growing economic inequalities. We call on architects to imagine spaces in which we can generously live together." Het Nieuwe Instituut explores Sarkis' central question by presenting a transdisciplinary study into 'multispecies urbanism'.
Open Call for the public parallel programme of the Dutch pavilion
Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL encourage forms of collective knowledge production, and this Open Call invites researchers and designers in the fields of architecture, urban design, and landscape to contribute, develop, and disseminate innovative and critical ideas. Participating projects should respond to the theme of Multispecies Urbanism. Selected proposals will be presented as part of the pavilion's parallel programme, taking place before, during and after the Biennale, in Venice and farther afield.
The Open Call expands on the ambition of the Dutch pavilion 2020 to contribute to an international discussion about new non-exclusive forms of living together, and how spatial, political, social and legal conditions can be designed for this new reality. The presentation of the projects is not necessarily linked to the timetable or locations of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020.
Participants can approach the Multispecies Urbanism theme in various ways:
- By exploring how humans and non-humans (animals, landscapes, artificial intelligence ecosystems) may be involved, and politically represented, in the urban processes from which they are currently excluded
- By proposing new forms of cartography and data visualisation to make visible the presence and importance of a multispecies approach to the city
- As a reflection on aspects of time, language, law, and value that influence new approaches to the environment from a human and more-than-human perspective
- As a discussion on the possible spatial, political or social consequences of involving non-human and more-than-human knowledge in spatial development
- As a reflection on national and international, historical and current examples of multispecies urbanism
- As a reflection on the developments needed within the fields of architecture, urban design, and landscape to think and design from a multispecies perspective
The projects submitted can be of various designs, and may take the form of:
- Proposals for new architecture and design research
- Additional research for projects that may have been presented before but are still under development
- Projects aimed at disseminating knowledge, such as events, symposia, workshops and publications
- Innovative collaborations with institutions or organisations, with clear and communicable results
- Speculative or artistic interventions and events
Aims of the Open Call
Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL aim to promote knowledge and contribute to the development of a platform for research in the fields of architecture, urban design, and landscape. The Open Call supports the development of research and projects presented as part of the parallel programme before, during, and after the Biennale. The two institutions are joining forces to make optimum use of the Venice Architecture Biennale 2020 as an international stage for current spatial and social issues, and to act as a catalyst for an ongoing conversation about the significance of architecture for our way of living together.
The Creative Industries Fund NL supports participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale as part of its Architecture Subsidy, which seeks to contribute to the:
- Strengthening of the social value of architecture from a cultural perspective
- Promotion of high quality in architecture
- Stimulation of interest around architecture in the Netherlands and abroad
The ambition of Het Nieuwe Instituut as co-organiser of this Open Call is to:
- Strengthen the discourse around architecture
- Increase the international reach of the Dutch pavilion
More specifically, Het Nieuwe Instituut contributes to the development of knowledge in a relatively new design domain, stimulating and sharing speculative and transdisciplinary research into, and experience with, multispecies urbanism. By strengthening its connection with the world of policy and development, it highlights architecture, urban design, and landscape's important contribution to the way we treat the earth.
Selection process and awarding
Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL have appointed an advisory committee to select projects for the parallel programme of the Dutch pavilion.
Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL has published a budget of up to ¬50,000, available through the Open Call, awarded to a minimum of two and a maximum of five projects, with a maximum contribution of ¬25,000 per project.
Application process
Proposals may be submitted until Wednesday 20 November 2019 via the online application environment of the Creative Industries Fund NL at _https://aanvragen.stimuleringsfonds._nl under Venice Architecture Biennale #1_Dutch pavilion public parallel programme
Important information:
- Participants must have a valid account to use the online application environment
- Request login details for the online application environment in advance. Validating new users may take up to one business day
- Familiarise yourself with the application form. You cannot submit draft proposals
- Confirmation of receipt is by email, sent no later than one week after the closing date
Application details
Both individual practitioners and groups can participate in the Open Call. Proposals must be written in English and submitted in one PDF (maximum 10 MB), consisting of a maximum of five A4 pages.
Eligible proposals must contain:
- An introduction (maximum 250 words) explaining the relationship between the proposal and previous projects and interests. You are not asked for a CV
- A description (maximum 1,000 words) of the project, its objectives and motives, and its relationship with the main programme. Include a proposal for the location, the relationship between the project and the pavilion theme, and a general time schedule of activities (for before, during, and after the Biennale)
- Relevant documentation of previous work by participants and cooperating partners, including images of the proposed project (maximum 20 images) and / or links to audio or video files (maximum 10 minutes) within the PDF application
- A detailed working method and working schedule (maximum 250 words)
- A description (maximum 100 words) of the target group and their involvement in the project
- A proposed budget, including any co-financing
- Annex: A certificate from the Chamber of Commerce, not older than one year
In addition to the above, all proposals will also be assessed on the basis of their:
- Relation to the theme of the Dutch pavilion
- Relevance in the fields of contemporary architecture, urban design, and landscape
- Capacity to raise relevant professional and social issues and to use various channels for their dissemination
Preference is given to proposals that include partnerships with researchers and practitioners, institutions and organisations in the Netherlands or abroad.
The selection takes the form of a tender - this means that a number of proposals are chosen within the available budget. Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL will communicate the successful proposals, and rejected applications will receive a notification before the end of 2019.
Terms and conditions
The treatment and assessment of proposals is undertaken within the framework of the Subsidy Regulations (Subsidiereglement), under which funds are then provided. See Article 7, section 2, which details the various procedures for open calls. From these regulations, the following do not apply to this Open Call:
- Article 11, section 2 under A and C, and section 3 under A
- Article 13 under b
- Articles 16 to 21
- Article 22, section 3
Questions
For questions about the Open Call and registration procedure, please contact Dominique Geelen at d.geelen@stimuleringsfonds.nl, or Ibrahim Alaoui Chrifi at i.alaouichrifi@stimuleringsfonds.nl, or call 010 436 1600.
More information
Information related to this Open Call will be addressed by Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Creative Industries Fund NL from 15:00 to 17:00 on 22 October 2019, at Tac Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week. Debra Solomon, Afaina de Jong and Klaas Kuitenbrouwer will reflect on multispecies urbanism from their own perspective, followed by a Q & A.