Reparation and renewal

The British Pavilion curators and commissioner have been awarded a Special Mention for National Participation at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, the British Council has announced.

The exhibition, titled GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair, is a collaboration between a multi-disciplinary team of curators: Farrell Centre Director Owen Hopkins,  Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi of Nairobi-based architecture studio Cave_bureau, and academic Professor Kathryn Yusoff. It comprises installations developed by the curatorial team as well as commissioned installations by a range of international practitioners, including Mae-ling Lokko and Gustavo Crembil, Thandi Loewenson, and the Palestine Regeneration Team / PART (Yara Sharif, Nasser Golzari and Murray Fraser).

The commission is a core part of the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025, which celebrates the creative, cultural and educational links between the countries of the UK and Kenya.

The exhibition’s geographical, geological and conceptual focus is the Rift Valley, a geological formation that runs from southeastern Africa through Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia, along the Red Sea, through Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Lebanon to southern Turkey.

The British Pavilion received a Special Mention from the jury for “A dialogue between Great Britain and Kenya about reparation and renewal. The Pavilion reveals an architecture defined by extraction, which generates inequality and environmental degradation. The Jury notes attempts to imagine a new relation between architecture and geology; as well as the Venice Fellowships Programme, a notable initiative for knowledge exchange between the three countries: Venice, Great Britain and Kenya.”

The exhibition’s geographical, geological and conceptual focus is the Rift Valley, a geological formation that runs from southeastern Africa through Mozambique, Kenya and Ethiopia, along the Red Sea, through Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Lebanon to southern Turkey.

The British Pavilion received a Special Mention from the jury for “A dialogue between Great Britain and Kenya about reparation and renewal. The Pavilion reveals an architecture defined by extraction, which generates inequality and environmental degradation. The Jury notes attempts to imagine a new relation between architecture and geology; as well as the Venice Fellowships Programme, a notable initiative for knowledge exchange between the three countries: Venice, Great Britain and Kenya.”

Dialogue and collaboration

Curators Owen Hopkins, Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi,  and Kathryn Yusoff said:

“We are hugely honoured that GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair has been recognised by the jury. The exhibition creates a vital space for dialogue and collaboration between our two countries that builds on their difficult, traumatic and deeply unbalanced past relationship, to imagine different possible futures.

"Architecture has a unique capacity to further repair, renewal and restitution and we are delighted that this message has so resonated for the jury. We have already been overwhelmed by the visitor response to the exhibition, and we hope it will continue to challenge and inspire those who visit over the coming months.”

Sevra Davis, Director of Architecture Design and Fashion at the British Council and Commissioner of the British Pavilion said:

“The British Council, the curators and I are honoured to be awarded a Special Mention by the jury of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition and we would like to extend our thanks to the jury and La Biennale di Venezia. “GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair confronts difficult conversations of the role played by architecture in extractive relations while also creating opportunities for hope, optimism and joy.

“I am immensely proud of the curators and our partners for their work on this historic collaboration between the UK and Kenya which celebrates connection between the two countries - in line with our mission of building understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.”

The British Pavilion was also presented with a Special Mention in 2023 for Dancing Before the Moon at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition.

The British Council has been responsible for the British Pavilion at the International Art and Architecture Exhibitions of La Biennale di Venezia since 1937, showcasing the best of the UK's artists, architects, designers and curators.

These exhibitions, and the British Council’s Venice Fellowships initiative introduced in 2016, help make the British Pavilion a major platform for discussion about contemporary art and architecture.

The British Council commission GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 runs from Saturday 10 May to Sunday 23 November 2025.

Press release adapted with thanks to the British Council