From the 18th of September to the 14th of December 2024, the second edition of La Biennale dello Stretto, an international exhibition of architecture, art, anthropology, landscape, writing, video and photography, will be held between Campo Calabro, Reggio Calabria and Messina. The themes chosen for this edition, ‘The Three Water Lines’ and ‘The Future of Cities’, intertwine in a reciprocal relationship, inviting us to rethink cities through water, conceived as a strategic urban element.
The main exhibition venue is located in Forte Batteria Sciacci in Campo Calabro, where the artworks collected through a general Call to Action are divided into three sections: architectural projects, photography, and art installations.
The Biennial was inaugurated with a series of meetings from the 18th to 22nd of September to explore the various themes, with curators, artists, academics and experts invited to exchange thoughts and ideas on the enhancement and understanding of the Mediterranean territory. The talks covered the themes found in the exhibition and other specific topics contextualised in the Mediterranean: digitalisation, data and artificial intelligence, climate change, migration, islands, cinema and music.
The impact of the first edition was so remarkable that it generated a strong interest and involvement that transcended the geography of the Strait and projected itself into the international sphere. As a partner of the 2024 edition of the La Biennale Palatina Cultural Group conceived and curated two in-depth sessions for the special themes Waterfront Cities/Port Cities and City Centres/Cultural Spaces. Held at the Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, the sessions were conceived and moderated by Palatina Cultural Group’s Scientific Director, architect Gaetano di Gesu.
The Waterfront Cities theme focuses on the environmental and the geopolitical: urban water always plays a strategic role, amidst a succession of climate emergencies, international competition and economic growth. Three experts were invited by Palatina Cultural Group for a parallel discussion and dialogue with China, bringing their experiences of Chinese Waterfronts. The introduction to the theme Waterfront Cities was presented by architect Paolo Vincenzo Genovese, who illustrated the results of a complex research on China’s Grand Canal conducted with Zhejiang University, showing the relationship between waterways and urban spaces of this historic communication infrastructure.
Architect Zhang Ming from Tongji University presented his work on Yangpu Binjiang and the Suzhou River in Shanghai, and projects in the port city of Hangzhou. In the session on Cultural Spaces and the Future of Museums, Liu Kecheng from Xi’An University of Architecture and Technology presented his recent project for the ancient port of Wenzhou Shuomen.
La Biennale dello Stretto is a cultural project promoted and supported not only by the historical founder 500x100sb and OAPCC Reggio Calabria, but also by ANCE Reggio Calabria, the Order of Architects of Messina, the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, the University of Messina, the Association for National, Calabrian and Sicilian Industrial Design, and other public subjects, administrations and institutions.
