The U.S. Pavilion at the 18th Venice Architecture Biennale, which opens in May, will feature an examination of worldwide plastic dependency through the work of five artists and designers who will deliver site-specific commissions as part of the overall exhibition curated by Lesley Lokko, founder and director of the African Futures Institute. 

SPACES' Executive Director Tizziana Baldenebro and Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland curator Lauren Leving were selected to co-organize Everlasting Plastics, which will be on display as part of the Pavilion from May 20 – November 26, 2023. 

Baldenebro explained, "Inherent to art and architecture is the aesthetic and materiality of form. Everlasting Plastics bridges this divide by drawing on the power of looking to serve as an entry point for reconsidering our relationships to material worlds."

"As the climate crisis becomes a tangible reality, our daily objects must be agents of change," adds Baldenebro. "This exhibition extends SPACES’ commitment to supporting artistic experimentation by bringing together a range of practices that are examining, salvaging, and upending a global calamity."

Participating artists include Xavi Aguirre (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Assistant Professor of Architecture), Simon Anton (Detroit-based designer), Ang Li (Northeastern University School of Architecture Assistant Professor), Norman Teague (University of Illinois at Chicago Assistant Professor in the School of Design); and Cleveland-based sculptor Lauren Yeager. 

Partnerships with Case Western Reserve University, the group Venice Lagoon Plastic Free, and other organizations will supplement the show and “expand dialogue and action around the future of plastics.” Additionally, a lecture series, student courses, and workshops will focus on Ohio, one of the nation’s most contaminated states, in addition to the buildup of plastic waste on the banks of the Venetian Lagoon.

“From toys to camping coolers, plastic is deeply embedded in the culture of the United States, where polymers were perfected and exported,” Lauren Leving said in a preview. “Our toxic chemical relationship with the material is now a global phenomenon, requiring new approaches for addressing a widespread dependency around the world.”

Development of the site-specific led by SPACES is in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Ongoing coverage of this year's Biennale can be found here.