If you are looking for information on the Venice Biennale 2023, tickets, pavilions, collateral events, you are in the right place.
In this post, constantly updated, there is everything you need to know about visiting the Venice Biennale 2023.

The Biennale 2023 is dedicated, as it is every two years, to Architecture and allows us to discover new trends. Last year, in 2022, the Biennale focused on Art, while this year it is Architecture in all its forms that is the protagonist.
I’m ready to dive into the vortex of possibilities offered by this 18th edition, and you?

VENICE BIENNALE 2023 TICKETS, PAVILIONS, SIDE EVENTS

Here is what you need to know about tickets for the Venice Biennale 2023, what you need to see, where to go and which side events are worth visiting.

Last updated 10 June 2023 – SPECIAL TICKETS FOR THE BIENNALE 

INFORMATION, TIMES AND TICKETS TO SEE THE BIENNALE  (UPDATE 4 MAY 2023) 

The Venice Biennale, from 20 May to 26 November 2023,  takes place in two different exhibition venues, one located at the Giardini and the other at the Arsenale, while collateral events are held throughout the city.

Before arriving in Venice you must have already booked your entrance ticket, as TICKETS AND GUIDED TOURS ARE ONLY SOLD ONLINE.

Opening hours Biennale Venice 2023

Hours from 20 May to 30 September: 11 am – 7 pm (last admission: 6.45 pm)
Until 30 September, Arsenale venue only: Friday and Saturday extended opening until 8 pm (last admission: 7.45 pm)

Hours from 1 October to 26 November: 10 am – 6 pm (last admission: 5.45 pm)
Closed Mondays

Special openings: Mondays 22 May, 14 August, 4 September, 16 October, 30 October, 20 November 2023

SPECIAL TICKETS FOR THE BIENNALE 2023 (UPDATE 10 JUNE 2023) 

The possibilities for visiting the Venice Biennale 2023 are many, depending on the needs of each visitor.
Besides the simple ticket, therefore, there are other options. Here are which ones:

Group tickets (min. 10 – max. 25 persons).
Attention! The maximum number of visitors per group is 25 people. For very large groups (more than 50 participants) it will be possible to pay in one lump sum by writing to booking@labiennale.org, but it will be necessary to arrange admission for small groups of no more than max. 25 participants.
Purchase on the official website –> Group tickets

Pluringresso tickets. Valid for multiple entries to the Giardini and Arsenale venues depending on the type chosen. These tickets are strictly personal with verification at the entrance of a valid identity document.

• 3-day ticket.
  Valid for three consecutive days – excluding closing days.
  Purchase on the official website –> 3-day ticket 
• Weekly ticket.
  Valid for 7 consecutive days – closing days excluded.
  Purchase on the official website –> Weekly Ticket
• Accreditation ticket.
  The accreditation is a type of ticket valid for multiple entries to both venues depending on the type chosen. It allows you to enter the Exhibition several times during its duration and also during the same day.
  Accreditation is strictly personal with verification at the entrance of a valid identity document.
  Purchase on the official website –> Ticket accreditation

 

COLLATERAL EVENTS (UPDATE 24 MAY 2023) 

There are a total of nine collateral events at the 18th. International Architecture Exhibition and, as always, they are organised in numerous venues throughout the city of Venice.

Here is the complete list of collateral events and the venues where they take place.

A Fragile Correspondence – Scotland + Venice
Docks Cantieri Cucchini, San Pietro di Castello 40
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: Scotland + Venice

Catalonia in Venice_ Following the Fish
Docks Cantieri Cucchini, San Pietro di Castello 40A
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: Institut Ramon Llull

Climate Wunderkammer
IUAV Palazzo Badoer ground floor – Calle de la Laca, San Polo 2468
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: RWTH Aachen University

Diachronic Apparatuses of Taiwan
Architecture as on-going details within landscape
Palazzo delle Prigioni, Castello 4209
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

EUmies Awards. Young Talent 2023. The Laboratory of Education
Palazzo Mora, Cannaregio 3659
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: Fundació Mies van der Rohe

Radical yet possible future space solutions
May 25, 2023 at IUAV Ca’ Tron, Santa Croce 1957
May 26, 2023 at IUAV aula magna Tolentini, Santa Croce 191
Organizing Institution: New European Bauhaus, Joint Research Centre of the European Commission

Students as Researchers: Creative Practice and University Education
Centro Studi e Documentazione della Cultura Armena, Dorsoduro 1602
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: New York Institute of Technology

Transformative Hong Kong
Campo della Tana, Castello 2126
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: Hong Kong Arts Development Council + The Hong Kong Institute of Architects Biennale Foundation

Tracé Bleu
Que faire en ce lieu, à moins que l’on y songe?
Campiello Santa Maria Nova 6024
May 20 – November 26, 2023
Organizing Institution: CA’ ASI

HOW TO VISIT THE BIENNALE 2023 (UPDATE 20 MAY 2023) 

The 18th. Venice Architecture Biennale is an exhibition divided into six parts.
Before you begin your visit, there are a few details you need to know in order to understand how and by whom the projects that are part of the exhibition were realised.

The Biennale 2023 comprises 89 Participants, all genders are equally represented and more than half of those who participate are from Africa or the African diaspora.
The average age of the participants is 43, while it drops to 37 in the Curator’s Special Projects section, where the youngest is 24. For the first time ever, almost half of the architects are from one-man studios or studios with a maximum of five people. In all sections of the exhibition, more than 70% of the exhibited works were designed by studios run by an individual or a very small team.

At the heart of each project is imagination because, according to the curator, it is impossible to build a better world if you don’t imagine it first.
The exhibition as a whole revolves around two main themes: decolonisation and decarbonisation, providing a snapshot of future practices and ways of seeing and being in the world.

The tour begins at the Central Pavilion in the Gardens, where 16 studios representing a concentration of African and diasporic architectural production are assembled.

Second part of the visit: we move to the Arsenale, where we find the Dangerous Liaisons section, flanked by the Curator’s Special Projects, which for the first time is as broad a category as the others.

During the visit, one will often come across the term ‘practitioner’, used to define the participants in this Biennale 2023. This is a choice made by the curator, who expressly wanted to avoid terms such as ‘architects’, ‘urban planners’, ‘designers’, ‘landscape architects’, ‘engineers’ or ‘academics’, because she felt that the dense and complex conditions of Africa and a rapidly hybridising world require a different and broader understanding of the term ‘architect’.

NATIONAL PARTICIPATIONS

There are 64 National Participations that, as always, have organised their exhibitions in the Pavilions at the Giardini (there are 27 in total), at the Arsenale (there are 22 in total) and in the historic centre of Venice (there are 14 in total).

Niger is taking part in the Architecture Biennale for the first time; Panama is presenting itself for the first time, in the past participating as I.I.L.A. (International Italo-Latin American Organisation).
The Holy See’s participation in the Architecture Biennale returns, with its own Pavilion on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore (it had participated in the Architecture Biennale for the first time in 2018).

The Italian Pavilion at the Tese delle Vergini in the Arsenale, has the title SPAZIALE: Ognuno appartiene a tutti gli altri.
For the first time, a curatorial group made up of architects born between 1987 and 1989 brings to Venice the instances of a new generation of designers under 40, who have grown up and formed themselves in a scenario of permanent crisis: the cultural crisis of the West triggered by 11 September 2001, the economic crisis of 2007-2008, the health crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the energy and geopolitical crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and the ecological crisis of tomorrow.
This generation of designers, which, compared to previous generations, has grown up in a regime of scarcity of resources and opportunities, and which experiences the issue of sustainability as crucial, presents its proposals for the future.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES, PERFORMANCES OF THE BIENNIAL 2023 (UPDATE 5 MAY 2023) 

The 18th. Venice Architecture Biennale is enriched by Carnival, a cycle of meetings, conferences, round tables, films and performances that will take place during the six months of the exhibition.
The aim is to explore the themes of the Biennale Architettura 2023.
Here are the most important appointments.

Monday, 17 July 2023 | Sala delle Colonne, Ca’ Giustinian
New Architecture Writers: Learning from Venice

Tuesday, 29 August 2023 | Teatro Piccolo Arsenale
The Future of Research into African Architectural and Urban History

Thursday, 31 August 2023 | Teatro Piccolo Arsenale
Governing, Designing and Educating Urban Futures

Tuesday, 26 September 2023, Wednesday, 27 September 2023, Thursday, 28 September 2023 | Arsenale e Teatro Piccolo
Carnival Film Screenings

Tuesday, 3 October 2023, Wednesday, 4 October 2023 | Arsenale e Teatro Piccolo
Women, Life, Freedom!

Tuesday, 21 November 2023 | Arsenale e Teatro Piccolo
Inconvenient Truths

To find out about the entire programme and stay up-to-date on events and any changes, it is best to check the official website of the Architecture Biennale 2023: www.labiennale.org

THE DATES OF THE VENICE  BIENNALE 2023 (UPDATE 4 MAY 2023)

The 18th. Architecture Biennale runs from 20 May to 26 November 2023 and is entitled ‘The Laboratory of the Future’.
This edition is curated by architect, architecture lecturer and writer Lesley Lokko, who explained the significance of this edition as follows:

“In addition to the desire to tell a story, issues of production, resources and representation are central to the way an architectural exhibition comes into the world, yet they are rarely acknowledged and discussed. It was clear from the outset that The Laboratory of the Future would adopt the concept of ‘change’ as its essential gesture.

 

INFO
18. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura – Biennale Venezia 2023

Biennale Arte 2023
The Laboratory of the Future
Edited by Lesley Lokko

Venice (Arsenale e Giardini) 20 may – 26 november 2023
(pre-opening 18 and 19 May)

Exhibition venues
Giardini / Arsenale

OFFICIAL HASHTAGS
#BiennaleArte2023
#TheLaboratoryoftheFuture