26 May 2018
The Kingdom of Bahrain at Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition
The Kingdom of Bahrain is taking part, for the 5th time, at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition La Biennale de Venezia- Arsenale 26th May- 25th November 2018. Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities’ pavilion “ Friday Sermon”, located at the Arsenale Artiglierie in Venice, was commissioned by Her Excellency Shaikha. Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities and was inaugurated at the biennale on 25 May 2018.
The pavilion features an installation and research on the ritual of the Friday Sermon and its influence on public space and public opinion. When thinking about free space, and by extension free speech for Arab and Muslim communities, the Friday khuṭbah becomes a key protagonist, especially as state, law, and religion remain as entangled as ever.
Speaking for the occasion, H.E Shaikha. Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa said “ We participate today in Venice Biennale International Architecture, opening many doors to the rest of the world to discover our historical civilizational assets and our universal heritage. These elements give our ancient cities their identities and their beautiful looks”. H.E added “ We wanted Bahrain’s national participation this year to center around “ Friday Sermon” or khuṭba, which has historically played an important role in shaping collective life, public opinion, and common space for Muslim communities in Arab and Muslim countries”. H.E has also confirmed that the choice of Bahrain national participation’s theme at Venice Biennale 2018 reflects BACA’s promotion campaign aimed at shedding light on Islam’s enlightenment values, celebrating at the same time Muharraq city in 2018 as the Capital of Islamic Culture.
H.E Shaikha Mai added saying: “ By being present and through our active participation in international events, we contribute to the development of our beloved Kingdom and draw a bright image of Bahrain, as a regional and international civilization citadel”. H.E also said that Bahrain has been present in the trophies and awards world since 2010 when it won the 2010 Venice Biennale, as the first Arab country to be honored with the Golden Lion Award. In addition, “Places of Production: Aluminum”, a book which was published by Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities during its participation in the 15th Biennale Venice International Architecture Exhibition won the annual Swiss Federal Office of Culture’s competition as ‘The Most Beautiful Swiss Books' organized on an annual basis.
The pavilion “ Friday Sermon” is designed by architect Noura Al-Sayeh, working at Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities and Nora Akawi, an architect and researcher based in New York, USA and Amman, Jordan The exhibition is designed by Apparata Studio and consists of a large-scale structure that hosts a sound installation by Giuseppe Ielasi and Khyam Alami based on recordings of Friday Sermons in Bahrain as well as other installations and works by Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Matilde Cassani, Mezna Qato and Sadia Shirazi, Camille Zakharia.
The exhibition is designed by Apparata Studio and consists of a large-scale structure that hosts a sound installation by Giuseppe Ielasi and Khyam Alami based on recordings of Friday sermons in Bahrain. The installation defines a central void under which one can experience the sound installation and references the sacred space of the religious, while the periphery of the installation, hosts three different contributions, each exploring a different aspect of the Friday sermon Practices. The All Hearing, a video installation by artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan investigates the effects of “loudspeaker libertarianism” in Cairo and its consequences on hearing damage and noise pollution in the city. The installation by Matilde Cassani looks into the architecture of the minbar and its adaptation in the Italian context while Mezna Qato and Sadia Shirazi present 3 Scores & the People’s Mic Khutba, a book of scores responding to Muslim social life under siege and that reimagines different formats for the Friday sermon.
A collection of five different essays form the scientific content of the exhibition and offer a historical overview of the origins, history and evolutions of the practices of the Friday sermon, as well as its use for political purposes. The essays are accompanied by a portfolio of images by Camille Zakharia taken in Bahrain, as well as archival images of the rituals of the sermon from New York to Amman. The collection of essays and images will form the basis of the exhibition catalogue, readily available for consultation at the pavilion.
Worth to mention that there are more than 60 countries participating at the Biennale and presenting projects dealing with the main subjects or themes of the biennale. This is the 5th Bahraini participation in Venice Biennale after, “Reclaim”, Bahrain's first participation at the 12th Venice Architecture Biennale in 2010, which was awarded the Golden Lion for best national participation. “Background”, Bahrain's second participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2012, followed by Bahrain’s national pavilion at 14th Venice Architecture Biennale titled "Fundamentalists and Other Arab Modernisms"
