Curatorial statement

The programme for the architecture festival Opening is curated by the school’s curator, Karen Kjaergaard, in co-operation with independent architect, Boris Brorman Jensen, and CEO of Arkitektens Forlag, Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss.

ACTIVISM, HOPE & REBELLION

In 1965, Aarhus School of Architecture opened its doors to a new generation of architecture students. This happened during a time characterized by activism, hope and rebellion against the established institutional mindset. Inspired by the political and cultural movements of the day, people articulated new ideals for architecture education and the profession’s self-perception – and changed society and the world.

So what are our most urgent challenges today, and what platforms are available to contemporary architects? How can architecture serve as a basis for working with the city and its inhabitants – and the world at large? Have the institutions become obsolete, or is there something new in the making?

Confronting challenges head-on

‘Staying with the trouble’ is a phrase coined by professor Donna Haraway. The festival takes a look at the current state of architecture in the world, locally and in the new school of architecture. As the profession increasingly opens to the world, outside voices contribute new narratives, debating anything from science fiction, feminism and climate to economics and activism. Critical eye-openers from the outside can help us verbalize the fundamental cultural and planetary challenges the profession is facing and which are going to define the future of the architecture profession.

Can the activistic approach of ’65 be continued in a meaningful manner, or will future architects, like their predecessors, have to discard the status quo and formulate new utopias? Will the majority refute climate changes, continue as before and protect the architectural accomplishments of the past? Or is there a third way?

Let’s stay with the trouble!

‘We aim to challenge the architect’s role as a visionary problem-solver in a changing world. The architect as the one who sticks it out, takes the challenges seriously and does not let up until the problems are fully resolved. The one who stays with the trouble. The development that followed after the modern breakthrough, the freedom and all the things we believed in have changed our planet to a degree where we now face challenges that no one can ignore. We forgot that with this freedom comes a profound responsibility.

This is true, not least, for the architecture profession, which has to adopt a new stance and learn to navigate in a much higher degree of complexity than before and acknowledge the connectedness of everything, whether in relation to architecture education, local communities or the world we all share.’

Let’s stay with the trouble!
Boris Brorman Jensen, Kristoffer Lindhardt Weiss, Karen Kjaergaard