The exhibition venues are located in the inner city of Aarhus and are within a short walking distance from each other. The walk is intended to become part of the exhibition experience, constituting a pause and preparation for experiencing a new venue. The venues are chosen to represent different exhibition typologies that invite works of different characters and scales.

‘THE ART SPACE’

Aarhus Kunsthal is one of Denmark’s oldest public art institutions, inaugurated in 1917 and designed by the Danish architect Axel Høeg-Hansen. WORKS + WORDS 2026 Biennale in Artistic Research in Architecture will be exhibited in one of the major exhibition rooms as well as in the small garden area surrounding the building. The major exhibition room appears as a classical “white cube” measuring 10×17 meters with a height of 5,2 meters. The room is lit by daylight from above.

The surrounding garden is a sloping plot that marks various transitions to the surrounding city, including a prison, archive buildings, and a walking passage with a stream. The Art Space and the garden offer the possibility to exhibit objects of a larger scale.

‘THE TOWN HALL’

The City Hall of Aarhus is one of the finest examples of Danish functionalist architecture, designed in 1937-1941 by Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller. The refinement of materials and detailing is exquisite and strongly influences the spatial atmospheres. A high level of tectonic thinking is revealed as the rooms radiate thoughtfulness and consideration in the use of materials and technology. The venue will be the entrance hall, where numerous employees as well as the public will pass by during the working hours of the City Hall. Measuring 9×11 meters and with a height of four floors, the room expands immensely in its vertical orientation. Daylight flooding from the ceiling amplifies this experience. From balconies, the exhibition area can be observed against a background of a dark patterned floor of bog oak.

‘THE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE’

Inaugurated in 2021 and designed by Vargo, Nielsen & Palle and ADEPT architects, the Aarhus School of Architecture is a contemporary building facilitating a modern learning environment. The layout of the building offers a high degree of flexibility and reflects the typology of a factory. A large exhibition room will be the venue for the biennale. Measuring 10×17 meters and with a double-height ceiling, the room offers various possibilities. The room radiates an atmosphere of density from the concrete walls and floors. Daylight and artificial light illuminate the room.
The exhibition room is situated right next to the conference room, in which the Works + Words 2026 Biennale Symposium will take place in connection with the opening of the Biennale, offering the entwined character of works and words to be presented.