oræ – Experiences on the Border

Project-team: Fabrice Aragno, Mounir Ayoub, Vanessa Lacaille, Pierre Szczepski 
Collaborators: Noémie Allenbach, Benoît Beurret, Jürg Bührer, Annabelle Voisin 
Commissioners: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia: Madeleine Schuppli, Head of Visual Arts; Sandi Paucic, Project Leader; Rachele Giudici Legittimo, Project Manager 

Swiss Events as part of the “Pavilion Days” and collateral event “Salon Suisse” 
Salon One: September 23–25, 2021 
Salon Two: October 21–23, 2021
Salon Three: November 18–20, 2021 

The exhibition in the Swiss Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021 ties the physical reality of the Swiss border to its political and social issues, thus drawing up a new perception for these inhabited territories. The outbreak of the pandemic in the middle of the work process gave the project additional relevance. 

For the 17th International Venice Architecture Biennale (May 22 – November 21, 2021) the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia chose to entrust the exhibition in the Swiss Pavilion to a Geneva-based team of architects and artists: Mounir Ayoub and Vanessa Lacaille from Laboratoire d’architecture in Geneva, as well as filmmaker Fabrice Aragno and artist sculptor Pierre Szczepski. With its project oræ – Experiences on the Border (oræ, Latin for “borders”), the team investigates the subject of borders taking into account both the political and spatial dimension of the territory and its sensitive and social perception. “Studying the Swiss border in these times means envisaging it not only as a line on a map, but also as a space to be experienced; not only as a limit, but as a beginning,” the authors of the project say. 

The project-team engaged in participative processes and proposed different political and poetic experiences. They began first onsite with a roving study at the end of 2019, where the team travelled with a truck fitted out as a studio to meet inhabitants of the border between Switzerland and its neighbouring countries. At each stage, participants were invited to construct an imaginary or real place of their choice at a border, while video recorded the process. 

The material collected onsite is presented in the Swiss Pavilion in Venice. oræ – Experiences on the Border is a project about the borders and its inhabitants. It reveals political and poetic dimensions of that space. “Little by little, relations replace measures and references change. Certainties blur and furtive memories creep in. Another map appears. Feelings and places, often ordinary, begin to resonate together, a new territory becomes possible,” the authors of the project state. 

Further information is available in the full press release.

Publication 
The exhibition in the Swiss Pavilion is accompanied by a book produced in collaboration with Lars Müller Publishers which illustrates the creation of oræ.

Swiss Events and “Salon Suisse” 
The Swiss Events will take place from September 23–25, 2021, as part of the “Pavilion Days,” which are coordinated with over 20 other participating countries. These countries will invite professionals and guests to Venice in this period, which will create an opportunity for international networking.  

The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia is also the organiser of “Salon Suisse,” an official collateral event of the 17th International Venice Architecture Biennale. The series of lectures, debates and events set in Palazzo Trevisan offers opportunities to discuss architectural issues in a pleasant and stimulating atmosphere. 

This year’s “Salon Suisse,” entitled Bodily Encounters, explores the fundamental connections between the human body and architecture.

Salonnière: Evelyn Steiner 
Salonnière’s Assistant: Viviane Ehrensberger 

Further information is available at biennials.ch.

Press requests: 
Switzerland: Lisa Stadler, Pro Helvetia, lstadler [​at​] prohelvetia.ch 
International: Joseph Lamb, Pickles PR, joseph [​at​] picklespr.com