No fewer than two young Brussels architecture firms are participating in the 60th Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art, which runs from 20 April to 24 November 2024. Bureau Nord, with architects Valentin Bollaert and Pauline Fockedey, is part of the Petticoat Government collective, which was appointed by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation to curate an exhibition in the Belgian pavilion. The Every Island collective will be responsible for the Luxembourg Pavilion. ¹‘ 1 Both Bureau Nord and Every Island were part of Across’ exhibition and lecture series organized by A+, which provides a platform for young Belgian architectural firms. Bureau Nord in 2020, Every Island in 2023.

The overarching theme of this year’s art biennale is ‘Foreigners Everywhere’. Curator Adriano Pedrosa puts it this way: “First of all, wherever you go and wherever you are, you will always encounter foreigners – they/we are everywhere. Secondly, no matter where you find yourself, you are always, truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.”