The practical guide to the Venice Biennale 2025

Every two years, Venice transforms into a grand international stage, attracting artists, architects, curators, journalists, students, the curious, and enthusiasts from around the world. This major event is the Biennale: one of the most important and longest-running cultural events on the global stage. Founded back in 1895, the Biennale remains a must-attend event for the city and a cultural engine that enlivens the alleys, historic venues, and even lesser-known corners of the lagoon city. In addition to having a strong impact on tourism, the economy, and everyday life in Venice, the Biennale is also a central moment for those who live in the city. For a few months, it really seems like everything — or almost everything—revolves around this major event. Cultural workers, students, guides, and many other local figures are directly involved, opening up spaces for dialogue with professionals from around the world: an eclectic mosaic that makes Venice a window onto the present and the future. Each year, the event alternates between two main focuses: Contemporary Art (in odd-numbered years) and Architecture (in even-numbered ones). 2025 is therefore the year of the Architecture Biennale, now in its 19th edition, with national pavilions, installations, exhibitions, and projects spread across the historic Giardini della Biennale, the Arsenale, and many other venues throughout the city.

Theme, curator, and intentions of the 2025 Architecture Biennale

Before buying a ticket and choosing which pavilion to start with, it’s helpful to understand what this edition of the Biennale will be about. Because yes, every time everything changes: the theme, the vision, the way contemporary architecture and art are narrated and “staged.” The 19th International Architecture Exhibition is curated by Carlo Ratti — architect, engineer, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and at the Politecnico di Milano, director of the renowned Senseable City Lab, and founder of the firm CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati. A name that bridges the worlds of design, technology, and innovation, with a sharp focus on the city of the future and the impact it has on our daily lives. The title chosen for this edition is “Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective.” — a Latin word (intelligens) that contains the idea of intelligence, but also the root “gens,” meaning “people.” The message is clear: today’s architecture can no longer be the work of a single individual, but must become the result of many collaborating intelligences — natural, artificial, and collective. The 2025 Biennale thus becomes a global laboratory, with over 750 participants from a wide range of fields: architects and engineers, of course, but also scientists, farmers, chefs, fashion designers, philosophers, and programmers. All are called to bring an original perspective to the theme of built space. The result is an exhibition that blends generations and experiences, where Pritzker Prize winners engage in dialogue with recent graduates. A real global network of voices — to hear, see, and experience firsthand.

How the Biennale works (and where it takes place)

The 2025 Architecture Biennale opens to the public on Saturday, May 10, and will be open until November 23, 2025. The event’s main venues are two: the Giardini della Biennale, the historic heart of the exhibition since the late 19th century, and the vast Arsenale complex, ancient shipyards converted into contemporary spaces. This is where the bulk of the international exhibition is located: in addition to the curatorial program by Carlo Ratti, both areas will host 51 national pavilions (26 at the Giardini and 25 at the Arsenale), where each country presents an independent project. To access the main venues — Giardini and Arsenale — you need to purchase an admission ticket. But the Biennale doesn’t stop there. The remaining national pavilions will be set up in various locations around the city: historic palaces, churches, courtyards, and former warehouses. In total, there will be 66 national participations at this edition of the Biennale, including four making their debut: the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, and Togo, bringing new voices and perspectives to Venice and expanding the event’s international reach. The jury of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale includes Hans Ulrich Obrist (president), Swiss curator, art critic, and historian, Artistic Director of the Serpentine in London; Italian curator Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator and Director of the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York; and Mpho Matsipa, South African architect, lecturer, and curator. The jury’s role is to assign the official awards, including the prestigious Golden Lion for Best National Participation. The award ceremony will take place in Venice on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

Collateral events

While we wait to discover the award-winning projects of this edition, it’s worth highlighting another key aspect of the Biennale: the collateral events. This year, there will be eleven selected and approved by the Curator but promoted independently by national and international nonprofit institutions and organizations. These are independent exhibitions, often hosted in incredible venues, where architecture engages directly, concretely, and sometimes surprisingly with the urban context. One notable mention is “The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain by Jean Nouvel at Fondazione Giorgio Cini”, hosted on the Island of San Giorgio, easily reached in a few minutes by vaporetto. The exhibition showcases Jean Nouvel’s visionary architectural project for the future headquarters of the Fondation Cartier in Paris: a large-scale model reveals a dynamic structure, with adjustable platforms and flexible spaces, conceived as a laboratory open to human creativity. These events are not just side additions, but an integral part of the Biennale, creating a parallel and complementary path to the main exhibition and offering a more open and widespread experience, where the projects intersect with the urban fabric in surprising ways. Often free or accessible without a ticket, the collateral events are an alternative gateway to the Biennale and also an invitation to get lost among Venice’s alleys and squares — which, after all, is the best way to explore the city — following the thread of an architectural narrative that never stays in one place.