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Chicago Architecture Biennial 2019: What to Expect

Posted  5 years ago  in  Arts and Culture, Landmarks, Trending

2 MIN READ – As a proud partner of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago Loop Alliance will explore the focus areas of the exhibition as they relate to the Chicago Loop and its innovative placemaking initiatives.


The third edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial will open September 19 and will convene the world’s leading practitioners, theorists, and commentators in the field of architecture and urbanism. Under the title …and other such stories, the Chicago Architecture Biennial will form an expansive and multi-faceted exploration of the field of architecture and the built environment globally.

Chicago Loop Alliance supports the biennial’s mission of creating a new way of thinking on contemporary architecture both to the field and the broader public in Chicago. As a sponsor of the biennial, CLA will lead a talk titled Activating the Loop’s Community. It will discuss lessons about placemaking learned from the city’s beloved ACTIVATE event and explore the role of civic organizations in designing a place for community development. Speakers include Chicago Loop Alliance’s Director of Planning, Kalindi Parikh, board members David Broz, principal of Gensler, and Charles Smith, principal of CannonDesign, and surprise ACTIVATE artists. In addition, Chicago Loop Alliance will integrate its Learning Expedition of the Global Business Districts Club into the biennial.

“We believe architecture and quality design are important differentiators to make our city more competitive,” said Michael Edwards, President and CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance. “Our innovative placemaking initiatives, combined with the city’s world-class architecture, enhance the human experience in the Loop and beyond.”

Developed through a research-led approach, the biennial will address the potency of space, architecture, and the natural world as they relate to four areas of inquiry: No Land Beyond, Appearances and Erasures, Rights and Reclamations, and Common Ground. Led by Artistic Director Yesomi Umolu with curators Sepake Angiama and Paulo Tavares, the biennial will explore, debate, and demonstrate the significance of architectural concepts in contemporary society.

“I’m proud that so many of Chicago’s cultural institutions and organizations are collaborating and engaging together and with people throughout the entire city,” said Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. “I’m excited that my first year as Mayor will include this type of cultural alliance that connects memory, history, civil and environmental rights as they relate to architecture while addressing some of the key issues impacting Chicago’s citizens.”

Visit ChicagoArchitectureBiennial.org to see the complete program.

Main Photo: Adrian Blackwell, Model for a Public Space (knot), Justina M. Barnicke Gallery, Hart House, Toronto, as part of Extra-Curricular: a conference on art and pedagogy, curated by Maiko Tanaka, March-Aug 2010 (Photo: Jesse Colin Jackson)

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