Conference organized by la Biennale di Venezia - ASAC (Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts) in the context of the 13th International Architecture Exhibition

with the collaboration of Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici del Veneto -

Soprintendenza Archivistica per il Veneto

 

Venice, Teatro Piccolo Arsenale

Free admission
Flyer (PDF)

 

On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 October, Archives and Exhibitions kicks off, the first conference on archives organised by la Biennale di Venezia- ASAC (Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts), chaired by Paolo Baratta, in collaboration with Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici del Veneto - Soprintendenza Archivistica per il Veneto.

 

"You can't hold an exhibition, even one dedicated to the avant-garde, without having recourse to the archives," says Paolo Baratta. "For some time now, the present and the contemporary have been viewed in the light of previous experiences or of history. The conference Archives and Exhibitions, promoted by la Biennale di Venezia – ASAC, more than a technical conference, is therefore aimed at launching an indispensable instrument for cultural organisation, and will be repeated every year at each Art and Architecture Exhibition. La Biennale is thus enriched by a further, ongoing research project."

 

The conference begins with a reflection on the use of archives in the 13th International Architecture Exhibition - Common Ground - curated by David Chipperfield (August 29th - November 25th 2012). The theme of the Exhibition has led the participants to reflect on themes concerning "continuity, context, and memory, and towards shared expectations." The participants were encouraged by the curator to demonstrate the importance of influence and of the continuity of cultural endeavour, to illustrate "common ideas that form the basis of an architectural culture." Many of the architects invited by Chipperfield, in creating their original proposals and installations, have drawn from material from architectural archives.

 

In Common Ground 'history' is living material: many installations insert materials and archival researches into a circuit of emotions, in a visionary perspective that extends their possibilities of use. Archives and Exhibitions arises out of the realisation that there are other ways of using archives besides those aimed at the usual historical research. With this initiative, la Biennale – ASAC, together with the Soprintendenza Archivistica per il Veneto, promotes the encounter between national and international institutions that are addressing the same subject and opens up a necessary reflection on the possibilities for historical archives to re-enter the cultural circuit and to generate emotional experiences that unveil a new sensitivity and trigger new processes in the contemporary age. The challenge first involves curators and archivists entrusted with the materials produced or acquired by institutions, who create tools to describe and access the data capable even of handling sophisticated needs without neglecting the traditional paths of research. In this scenario, the concrete methods of safeguarding and using materials, stored in archives assume particular importance. They require innovation in the techniques of conserving and communicating special materials such as drawings, models, photographs, manuscripts and threedimensional models.

 

La Biennale is dedicating two days to debate, divided into 5 sessions that include institutional interventions in the morning and two roundtable discussions in the afternoon.

 

On Saturday, October 20th, the meeting will be chaired by Paolo Baratta, President of la Biennale di Venezia, with interventions by David Chipperfield, the curator of the 13th Exhibition and Ugo Soragni, Direttore Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici del Veneto. The roundtable discussion, moderated by Fulvio Irace, architectural historian and critic, will examine the international situation: the representatives of some of the most prestigious foreign institutions will compare researches and interpretations.

 

On Sunday, October 21st, the day will open on the Italian scene with speeches by Paolo Baratta, President of la Biennale di Venezia, and by Erilde Terenzoni, Soprintendente archivistica del Veneto. The roundtable discussion, moderated by the rector of the IUAV Amerigo Restucci, will engage scholars and representatives of the major Italian institutions and will focus on the topics of the conservation and communication of archives.

 

The last session will be devoted to defining a future work program, which provides for seminar meetings devoted to specific aspects of the preservation and use of the archives of the twentieth century and contemporary age.