u n c e d e d : V o i c e s o f t h e l a n d
Venice Biennale 2018
“The exhibition weaves together nature, culture, and technology to show the interconnectedness that lays at the heart of indigenous architecture, in sharp contrast to architecture’s dominant ethos.”
UNCEDED: Voices of the Land is the first indigenous-led exhibition to be presented at the prestigious Venice Architecture Biennale. The installation showcases work of architects across Turtle Island (Canada and US) and features several built works of 7 Directions Architects / Planners and Glenn + Glenn Architects Engineers, PLLC, who also served on the design team under renowned aboriginal architect Douglas Cardinal. “Seven generational thinking”—an indigenous framework connecting past ancestors, present family and future generations—is represented by architecture that is one with its natural environment. The Turtle Island Pavilion, using video projection and soundscapes rather than pro forma models and orthographic drawings, is conceptualized as a wrapper with surfaces for storytelling through four thematic metaphors or “territories”—indigeneity, landscapes of resilience, sovereignty, and colonization.
The immersive exhibit celebrates time, tradition, ceremony and performance. The colonization node delves into the history of the residential school system, which saw hundreds of thousands of aboriginal children removed from their families and placed in schools described as tools of “cultural genocide”. This narrative is especially relevant to the 7 Directions Founding Partners—as Susan’s children and larger Crow family are descendants of survivors of Native American boarding schools.
