Saudi Arabia 2021

Title: Accomodations
Commissioner: Architecture and Design Commission
Curators: Uzma Z. Rizvi and Murtaza Vali.
Exhibitors: Basmah Kaki, Hessa AlBader and Hussam Dakkak

This is the second appearance of Saudi Arabia at the 17^th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice with the exhibition: Accommodations. The architects selected to represent the Kingdom are Hussam Dakkak, Basmah Kaki and Hessa AlBader. With their practice spanning Jeddah, London and Kuwait City, the trio represent a new generation of creatives coming of age during the country’s cultural transformation. They will work alongside Brooklyn-based curators Uzma Z. Rizvi and Murtaza Vali.

Reflecting on this year’s theme of “How Will We Live Together?” through the lens of quarantine, both current and historical, the Saudi National Pavilion is presented as an experiential exhibition rooted in archival research. Through its structure and design, it invites moments of exploration, retrospection and analysis. Envisioned as several spaces within a space, the three-part exhibition invites visitors into the realms of quarantine through which they will explore the intertwining relationship between inclusion and exclusion. The exhibition examines the evolution of enclosures as they respond to external contexts, derive new meanings from novel situations, and redefine the relationship between the individual, the community and the other.

Situated once again within the Venetian Arsenale, a complex of historic shipyards, the exhibition will be open to the public in Venice and will be accompanied by a dedicated website launching in May 2021.