Ghanaian Architect Joe Osae-Addo To Showcase Next Generation Of African Architects At Venice Architecture Biennale

Ghanaian Cultural entrepreneur and Architect, Joe Osae-Addo is taking his advocacy for African architects to the prestigious Venice architecture biennale.

On July 22, Joe Addo opened the ArchiAfrika Pavilion at the European Cultural Center’s Time Space Existence exhibition at Giardini della Marinaressa in Venice. The exhibition, including students from Historically Black Colleges from the United States, ran parallel with Biennale Architettura. The ArchiAfrika pavilion will host three exhibitions from July 22 to November 21.

Joe’s third and last exhibition, ‘New Blood 2021’ (August 22-November 21), will put the spotlight on 10 young Architects that he believes will have a major impact on the African Architecture scene for years to come. This exhibition is a follow-up to the original1996 version curated by the late America great architect Bernard Zimmerman, who was JoeAddo’s mentor in Los- Angeles.

Contemporary architecture as practiced in the West is heavily dependent on a very opinionated press, which anoints and endorses, establishing heroes and villains in the process. These Opinions drive western architecture education and is no different from the political press, which analyses global political situations as if they are the only Voices that need to be heard.

Joe Addo likens this stranglehold of contemporary Architecture critique of contemporary Architecture in Africa to the overzealous negative reportage of the post-war vilification of Africa’s Freedom fighters from Lumumba Savimbi, to Kwame Nkrumah and more recently Mugabe and Gaddafi. If you follow the Western Architecture Press, which dominates the global discourse, you would be led to believe that Africa has possibly 2- 3 decent Architects worth covering. Using African Freedom Fighters as a guide, Joe Addo is bent on showcasing the work of a broader base of Ideas and design exploration.

Joe Addo with students of Kingston, 121 collective and Studio Nyali

The New Blood exhibition opening on August 22nd attempts to do just that and it doesn’t end there. At the Venice exhibition opening of their New Blood exhibition, ArchiAfrika will unveil their Design Excellence Program where selected young African architects will have the opportunity to design and have built sustainable houses for Ghanaian entrepreneurs and African Art collectors using processed bamboo prefab systems by Centric Ltd.

This first batch of houses will be part of an Island Retreat owned by Mr. Amadu Baba. Other Projects, sponsored by Baba will be announced in due course. In concert with this Program, ArchiAfrika will announce the expansion of their Student Internship Program with Powerhouse Architecture of Rotterdam with a planned major exhibition of their Work in Accra, February 2022.

New Blood 2021 is the spiritual follow-up exhibition to the original convened by the late LA architect and his colleagues in 1996, of which JoeAddo was a participant. He believes that singular experience changed the course of his career and he hopes that a similar outcome will accrue to this Next Generation Architects of African descent.

The opening program will include Joe Addo in conversation with the curator of the show, James Inedu George, and also all the participants. Special Guest of Honour will be Mr. Amadu Baba who will articulate his Vision for this first Project. The event will happen at Giardini della Marinaressa and will be live-streamed.