Kethra: Abundance

In its first participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Kuwait Pavilion proposes a gathering space where, through oral accounts, the city is shared, revealed and questioned.

The Kuwait Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale marks the first time the country participates in the event. Titled Kethra —a term which can be loosely translated as "abundance" or "overflow" —, the installation is curated by Zahra Ali Baba, alongside deputy curators Deema Al-Ghunaim and Ricardo Camacho. Located at the Corderie dell'Arsenale, it is the first room to be entered after the main Common Ground exhibition, offering a stark contrast to everything around it.

First, there is the void. The room is mostly empty, with sunlight pouring in through partially open windows, and the Arsenale's charming derelict walls are allowed to shine. Low cushions line the perimeter of the room, inviting visitors to sit and chat, rest, or consult a number of booklets spread around the floor. Filled with texts, maps, diagrams and information, the floor is the visual protagonist of the space, complementing the many sounds filling the room.

These aren't just the conversations of passersby: hanging from the ceiling are a myriad black speakers, from which the sounds of Kuwait City are brought in to the Arsenale. All are different, and offer glimpses into the life of the city and its inhabitants: children playing in a family gathering, a beach after midnight, a meeting inside a Diwaniya in a residential area.

The Kuwait Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition — Venice Biennale

The concept of Diwaniya, an informal gathering space that is a fundamental part of any Kuwaiti man's life, has inspired the installation, which seeks to display the first part of a research project to which several architects, artists and researchers have contributed, in an environment that encourages dialogue and reflection. "The socio spatial typologies emerging from a culture of gathering can be traced back to pre-oil Kuwait. Increasing in density by a welfare state economy, these local habits of information gathering and distribution are registers of a critical condition between abundance and overflow," state the curators, pointing out that the pavilion's primary focus is "on the role of architecture in promoting a more critical engagement within the civic sphere, and to sustain international and local dialogues in the field of architecture and urbanism."

The installation is accompanied by a fold-out poster which details the origins — space and moment — of each of the sounds broadcast in the pavilion. Vera Sacchetti (@verasacchetti)

Kethra: Abundance

In its first participation at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Kuwait Pavilion proposes a gathering space where, through oral accounts, the city is shared, revealed and questioned.

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