Venice Architecture Biennale: An intern’s journey

The National Pavilion UAE team meet the head architect of the Venice Architectural Biennial 2014 during an inspection of the UAE’s new permanent pavilion in the Arsenale – Sale d’Armi (Courtesy: Reem Show more

Two weeks ago, the first batch of interns from the UAE arrived in Venice to begin a six-month rolling programme hosted by the National Pavilion UAE, who are set to participate in the architecture Venice Biennale for the first time.

Each group spends one month in Venice where they will live and work acting as custodians and docents of the National Pavilion throughout the duration of the exhibition Lest We Forget: Structures of Memory in the UAE at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia. A group of 19 Emiratis and long-term residents of the UAE were selected for the programme in addition to eight Italian interns from the prestigious Ca'Foscari University in Venice, whom will be partnering with the Emiratis for cultural and language exchange.

Over the course of the next few months, we will be following the Venice interns through a series of guest blog posts in the form of diary entries.

Here Asma Bukhammas, who is in Venice with Reem Hantoush, takes us through her first week in Italy.

Friday, 9 May 2014

We just arrived in Venice and the whole team is ecstatic to finally be here after months of preparation. Our role is help get the exhibition ready in time for the opening on the June 5th and represent the UAE as the extraordinary country that it is and hopefully - if time permits- discover the magical city of Venice!

On our way from the airport, we have to carry our 30 kg bags across the historic stone-paved streets and up a few of the city’s famous bridges. Once we get to our apartment, I send a text to the rest of the team still in the UAE: “Bring a light backpack only!“.

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

It is now our fifth day in Venice and the experience so far has been truly unique. The Italian Interns from the Ca’ Foscari University (all of whom are learning Arabic) help us see the city beyond the typical postcard image. Through them we get a chance to meet a few of the local Venetians, an ever-decreasing population. This visit to the city of water canals is not my first, but I can’t help being taken aback by its charming beauty.

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

We meet Luca, the head of the Venice Architecture Biennale construction team, during the inspection of the UAE’s new permanent pavilion at the Arsenale – Sale d’Armi. He talks to us about the role of contemporary architecture in a historic city such as Venice and the resistance of authorities here to deviate from the existing architectural styles. I realise that professionals such as Luca are constantly looking at the past, just as we in the UAE are constantly looking at the future. In that sense, we both have a lot to learn from each other. And I am certainly looking forward to doing exactly that over the next few weeks.

* Asma Bukhammas is an Emirati Architecture graduate from the American University of Sharjah and has worked at the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) for the past three years. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree. Follow her adventures in Venice by following @veniceinterns and #veniceinterns on instagram and twitter, as well as her personal accounts, instagram: @asmanotasthma and twitter: @Asma_BK