Living on Platforms

Peter Mörtenböck & Helge Mooshammer on platform urbanism (Austrian Pavilion, 2021 Venice Biennale Architettura) and the self-organised work of the Curators Collective.

For the first time in the history of the Venice Biennale, more than 50 curators of the various national contributions have come together and established a formalised network of mutual support and dialogue: the Curators Collective (CC). In August 2021, in the days preceding the award ceremony of the Biennale Architettura 2021, the Curators Collective organised dozens of public events across collaborating national pavilions in the Giardini, Arsenale, and throughout Venice, to mark the midterm of the exhibition. This ‘Midissage’ was one aspect of the Curators Collective’s ongoing effort to fulfil the Biennale’s potential as a platform for synergistic collaboration, solidarity, and accessibility. The talk examines how the self-organised Curators Collective, the CC Midissage, the curatorial framework and institutional management of the Biennale Architettura, and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis have intersected with the programme of the Austrian Pavilion, curated by Peter Mörtenböck and Helge Mooshammer, and its focus on platform urbanism (http://www.platform-austria.org).