The vital role that
market places play in the life of rural communities will be celebrated in
Free Market, the
Irish Pavilion exhibition at the
Biennale Architettura 2018.
Curated by a team of six young Irish architects and designers,
Free Market aims to reassert the declining
rural market square as a public place of social, political and cultural exchange, central to
community cohesion. In doing so, it will highlight the generosity, humanity and possibilities that are embodied in the market place.
One in three Irish people live in a town, and this exhibition focusses on small towns of less than 5000 people. Once the
economic and social hubs of rural Ireland, many market squares in these towns have seen their function as a
place for exchange and congregation diminished. Many others have surrendered their role as markets and are now used only for car parking.
Free Market aims to explore the unique identity of these market towns while reflecting regional variation and historic development.
In response to the
Freespace theme chosen by the curators of the
Biennale Architettura 2018, Yvonne Farrell and
Shelley McNamara, Free Market will act as a real market square, offering an engaging place to meet, to pause, to interact with the exhibits and openly exchange ideas.
Evoking the character of the market space through the use of texture, proportion, colour and sound, the pavilion will also include architectural models and drawings describing both the historic and contemporary conditions of these towns.
The curators of
Ireland Pavilion also responded to the
Freespace theme by providing a space for
‘deep curiosity, imagination and creativity’ through the work of fiction writers, artists, poets and playwrights, exploring the character and nuance of the language and life of small towns. Their work is presented alongside that of theorists, critics, policy makers, architects and planners.
There will also be
proposals for how design and planning professionals best engage with the
potential and
future of these towns. These exhibits will be accompanied by soundscapes from rural Ireland broadcast by the pavilion’s own
Free Market Radio.
A newspaper entitled
Free Market News, distributed at the pavilion, collects writings on rural towns from nearly 40 expert contributors, while 3 audio pieces
‘Sound Travels’ give perspectives on the lived experiences of small towns.
“Many of the challenges facing towns in Ireland are common to rural towns throughout the world. We hope that by presenting Irish towns on the global stage in Venice, we can open a much needed conversation about the resilience of rural towns in an international context”, says co-curator Miriam Delaney.
The Free Market curators conceived the exhibition at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition as the first phase of the project. After the Biennale Architettura 2018, Free Market will return to Ireland to tour small towns around the country in 2019, gathering stories and participants and continuing to evolve along the way.
Curatorial team
Jeffrey Bolhuis. Architect, co-founder of AP+E, studio tutor at the Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment, TU Delft and unit leader at the Cork Centre for Architectural Education.
Jo Anne Butler. Multi-disciplinary designer, a creative director at Superfolk and co-founder of Culturstruction, her love of nature, awareness of environment and understanding of materials forms the basis of her strong design ethos.
Miriam Delaney. Architecture lecturer at the Dublin School of Architecture, Dublin Institute of Technology.
Tara Kennedy. Co-founder of Culturstruction, practices architecture with John McLaughlin Architects and is a lecturer at Cork Centre for Architectural Education, as well as initiating socially driven design and research projects.
Laurence Lord. Architect, co-founder of AP+E, studio tutor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy in University College Dublin and unit leader at the Cork Centre for Architectural Education.
Orla Murphy. Architect, founder of Custom and Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy in University College Dublin.
