The Canada Council for the Arts on Thursday announced the curators and winning proposal for the Canadian Pavilion at the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale. 

Led by Montreal architecture and design practice T B A and David Theodore of McGill University, the exhibition will be titled "Imposter Cities," and will touch on ideas of identity, history and culture within the context of Canadian architecture.

Specifically, "Imposter Cities" will explore the county's role as a popular movie set and its architecture as film-famous settings for other places. Nicknamed Hollywood North, Canada has become a top filming location with its cities and buildings often acting as stand-ins for elsewhere—i.e. Montreal plays the part of Paris, while Toronto gets cast as New York or Boston. 

Using a range of digital media, the curators will investigate why Canada's buildings are so good at filling the role of somewhere else. On the proposal, organizer David Theodore said, "it will be fun to immerse visitors in the imposter experience. Looking at cities through movies and TV shows gives a playful new look at Canadian cities, allowing visitors to think about what makes Canadian architecture distinctly Canadian."

This sentiment was echoed by fellow curator Thomas Balaban of T B A, who noted that the exhibition "will make people aware that the film-famous buildings and spaces that have subtly structured our collective cinematic consciousness, are actually Canadian."

"It is about our identity but also about looking at what makes this fascinating misreading of our architecture possible," Balaban added.

The 17th edition of the prestigious exhibition will take place from May 23rd to November 29th, 2020. Announced back in December, it will be directed by architect and educator Hashim Sarkis and will explore the many "global challenges" fronting architecture.