Demas Nwoko receives the Lifetime Achievement of the 2023 Venice Biennale of Architecture

This year, Nigerian artist and architect Demas Nwoko will take home the Golden Lion from Venice at the opening of the exhibition on May 20.

This year marks the 18th edition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture, one of the most important art and architecture exhibitions on the European continent. The theme of this year’s edition is The Laboratory of the Future. This refers to an expanded approach to architecture that encompasses both the material and immaterial worlds: a space in which ideas are as important as objects. Africa will also be highlighted this year, as the organizers see the continent as a major player in the future.

The festival’s chief curator is Ghanaian-Scottish architect Lesley Lokko, who nominated Demas Nwoko for the award. Nwoko is an artist, designer, and architect in one, and a prominent figure in the Modern Art movement in Nigeria. One of the most important features of his work is his ability to create connections between African sites, people, and projects with the help of modern techniques and approaches. From an early age, his goal was to bridge the gap between colonial, Western architectural techniques and African traditions. Of noble descent, a descendant of Obik (king, ruler), his first defining memory of architecture was the palace designed by his grandfather, who was king at the time.

Source: ArchDaily
Cover Photo: Dominican Institute and Chapel, Ibadan, 1970-75. Photo: La Biennale di Venezia

• design
• architecture
• venice biennale
• demas nwoko
• award