The Venice Biennale is a prestigious architecture exhibition that takes place every two years alternating with the art biennale. The event features a wide range of architecture, design and art forms and is attended by artists, curators, and architects from around the world. At the recent Biennale press conference, the European Cultural Academy team had the opportunity to hear from chief curator Lesley Lokko about the upcoming 2023 edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale.

The show This year's theme, 'The Laboratory of the Future', puts a spotlight on Africa and the African Diaspora. With 63 National Pavilions and 89 participants, over half of whom are from Africa or the African Diaspora, the exhibition aims to achieve a 50/50 gender balance and an average participant age of 43.

About 2023 Curator and Creative Director Lesley Lokko is an architect, academic, and author. She was previously the founder and director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg. She is currently engaged in setting up an independent school of architecture in Accra, Ghana, the African Futures Institute. Born in Scotland, Lokko grew up in Ghana. She received her first architecture degree at London's Bartlett School of Architecture and earned her doctorate in architecture from the University of London in 2007.