Can architecture be the keeper of stories? What happens when architecture speaks its truth? For the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of the Biennale of Venice we submit Griot, which speculates missing legacies prevalent in foundational architectural cannon. A Griot, historically, is a West African storyteller. In this proposal, physical objects and drawings will supply histories of architecture, identity, colonization, and the cultural influences of the African Diaspora.
Griot demands a reorientation of foundational principles, providing the opportunity to imagine a new future. One that positions Africa and its descendants as a force to be acknowledged and revered.