VENICE.- Migrating Landscapes presents a distinctively Canadian architectural vision that is sympathetic with a worldwide trend towards increased mobility – not only of people, but also of cultures and, most importantly, pluralistic aspirations. As more and more people move around the globe, the issue of immigration poses challenges at all levels – challenges that this exhibition frames around the themes of ‘settling’ and ‘unsettling’. Migrating Landscapes seeks to explore these themes in a manner that highlights Canada’s commitment to openness, diversity and democratic pluralism.

Migrating Landscapes was selected by a national juried competition as Canada’s official entry to the 13th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia. It is organized and curated by Winnipeg-based 5468796 Architecture and Jae-Sung Chon, who joined together for this project to form a new entity: the Migrating Landscapes Organizer (MLO). MLO invited, through a national competition, young Canadian architects and designers from a wide range of cultural and educational backgrounds to create scale models of ‘dwellings’ and accompanying videos that draw on cultural memories. The resulting exhibition is an enactment of ‘setting-unsettling’ that discusses various forms of migrated memories as they are integrated into a new modular ‘landscape.’

This work has appeared in regional exhibitions across Canada: in Vancouver, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Mo ntreal and Halifax. Local juries selected winners from each regional exhibition to advance to the national exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Eighteen national winners, including practitioners, academics and students, were selected by a prestigious national jury made up of Eleanor Bond, Ian Chodikoff, Anne Cormier, Bruce Kuwabara and John Patkau. Together with MLO, these national winners will represent Canada in Venice as a young architectural ‘Team Canada’.

The theme of ‘Common Ground’ resonates with Migrating Landscapes, which questions sociopolitical borders, the migration of people and ideas, and, at its core, exposes attitudes people hold of others, consciously or unconsciously. At the same time, Migrating Landscapes proposes questions about contemporary architecture that is practiced cross-culturally and negotiated across political and social borders.

Migrating Landscapes will be on display at the Canada Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia from August 29 - November 25, 2012.