Madeleine Kessler and Manijeh Verghese were selected by the British Council to curate the British Pavilion as part of the 17th International Exhibition of Architecture in Venice. Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Garden of Privatised Delights explores privatised public space across the UK and reimagines how to make public space more inclusive, proposing strategies for more equitable ownership, access and use.

The themes explored within the pavilion include the future of the high street, the use of facial recognition technologies, access to green space, ownership of public space, and spaces for young people, themes that took on renewed urgency during the global pandemic. The six rooms of the British Pavilion are transformed into a series of immersive spaces, each developed in collaboration with leading practitioners and researchers. Together they combined critique with proposition, exposing current limitations while presenting strategies for increasing people’s agency over their public spaces. Visitors were invited to reflect, participate, and test new ideas, making the Pavilion an active ground for debate. The exhibition became a testing ground for the future of public space, helping to make the British Pavilion a platform for discussion about contemporary art and architecture addressing one of the most pressing issues in the UK today.

Client: British Council

Team: Madeleine Kessler, Manijeh Verghese, Rosie Hervey, Ioana Man

Collaborators: Built Works, Public Works, Studio Polpo, The Decorators, Unscene Architecture, vPPR

Consultants: Arup, Buro Happold, Install Archive, Jonathan Cook Landscape Architects

Graphic Design: Kellenberger White

Photos: Jim Stephenson

Visit the virtual tour here

Visit the British Council's website