The British Pavilion exhibition at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, has been awarded a Special Mention for National Participation.
Commissioned by us at the British Council, the exhibition is a unique UK-Kenya collaboration between a multi-disciplinary team of curators: architects Kabage Karanja and Stella Mutegi of Nairobi-based Cave_bureau, UK-based curator and writer Owen Hopkins, and academic Professor Kathryn Yusoff.
The exhibition aims to re-centre architecture’s relationship to geology, exploring how it might evolve beyond extractive, colonial legacies. Rooted in the British Pavilion’s alignment along an axis that stretches from Britain in the north-west to Kenya and the Great Rift Valley in the south-east, the exhibition transforms the Pavilion into a space for reimagining how architecture can be more grounded in its relationship to the earth.
The Jury noted attempts to imagine a new relation between architecture and geology. The jury also noted the Venice Fellowship programme as a notable initiative for knowledge exchange between the three countries: Venice, Great Britain and Kenya.
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, 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.
'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.'
Sevra Davis, Director of Architecture Design and Fashion at the British Council and Commissioner of the British Pavilion
'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.
'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.'
Curators Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi, Owen Hopkins and Kathryn Yusoff.
GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair is at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025 from Saturday 10 May to Sunday 23 November 2025.
This year’s commission has been conceived as part of the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025, which celebrates the creative, cultural and educational links between the UK and Kenya.
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.