Open Call for Participation in U.S. Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, in partnership with DesignConnects and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, invites architects, designers, artists and creatives from across the United States and its territories to submit exhibit design proposals for PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity, the U.S. Pavilion exhibition at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. 

PORCH focuses on the representation of the U.S. through the contemporary manifestation of the porch in American architecture – a quintessential constructed place that is at once social and environmental, tectonic and performative, hospitable and intimate, generous and democratic. The U.S. Pavilion’s theme highlights an enduring American architectural typology that persists across scales, geographies, communities, construction methods and histories. PORCH also complements the Biennale Architettura 2025's theme, "Intelligens: Natural. Artificial. Collective," spotlighting architecture’s role in addressing climate change and fostering forward-looking solutions for adaptation and renewal. 

“The exhibitor contributions to the U.S. Pavilion, achieved through the Open Call, lie at the heart of the collective PORCH project,” said Peter MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas. “Framed by the constructions and installations of our design team, the exhibitor contributions will animate an understanding of contemporary architecture and design in the United States as a source of civic engagement and community building, a resource for social and environmental resiliency and as fundamentally committed to the greater good of society.” 

“Like a big porch inviting the world in, our Open Call for Participation welcomes artists, architects and designers from all regions of the country to share their creativity,” said Susan Chin, founding principal, DesignConnects. “I am eager to see how these porches, at all scales from rural to urban, will evoke memories of breezy shady spaces, places for gathering or welcoming strangers to stop and chat. Our ideal is to engage new voices who spark new ideas for the American PORCH.” 

“The porch plays an important role as a cultural and architectural representation of American life,” said Rod Bigelow, executive director and chief learning and engagement officer, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary. “It acts as a stage for social interactions and contributes to the storytelling of communities. These stories will broaden dramatically through welcoming creators from around the country to contribute to the PORCH, showing the diversity of the American experience on the world stage.”  

The Open Call for Participation will be conducted in two phases, accepting initial submissions through a dedicated portal (porchusavenice2025.org/open-call) from Dec. 3, 2024, to Jan. 17, 2025. Projects will be evaluated by the PORCH design team leads, working with prominent figures from architectural and design arenas. The announcement of at least 50 exhibitors will be made on February 3, 2025, and selected participants will receive a modest stipend to support the further development of their proposals into a designated format for exhibition.  

Architects, landscape architects, designers, artists, design firms, nonprofits, public agencies and individuals from across the U.S. and its territories are invited to respond to the Open Call. The U.S. Pavilion’s interior exhibition will feature at least 50 participant displays, encouraging proposals from citizens, states and territories nationwide, as well as from design practices of any size or discipline. Eligible entries must have been built or completed after 2000. A separate call for participation, launching in mid-January 2025, will permit unbuilt and speculative projects from students and schools of architecture and design.  

PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity will debut publicly on May 10, 2025, at the opening of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition. 

Open Call Details 

Who Can Apply: 
Architects, landscape architects, designers, artists, design firms, nonprofits, public agencies and individuals from the U.S. and its territories.  

Project Requirements: 
Projects must demonstrate artistic and architectural merit and have been built or completed after 2000. 

Submission Period: 
Dec. 3, 2024 – Jan. 17, 2025, at 12:00 p.m. EST. 

How to Apply: 
Submission guidelines and project briefs are available at: porchusavenice2025.org/open-call. 

Selection Process: 
The PORCH design team leads, working with prominent figures from architectural and design arenas, will evaluate Phase 1 submissions. At least 50 elected exhibitors will be announced on Feb. 3, 2025. Selected participants will receive a modest stipend to support the further development of their exhibits, according to a Phase 2 design brief. The selected participants’ finalized exhibitions must be prepared for delivery to the commissioners by March 31, 2025.  

ABOUT THE CO-presenters 

The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas advances design excellence through a multi-disciplinary, place-responsive design education, in service to Arkansas, the nation and the world. Within the curricular context of an excellent professional design education, the school provides a vital design culture and educational environment grounded in critical design thinking, multidisciplinary collaborations and civic engagement.   

Founded in 1946 with degree programs in architecture, and named in honor of the Arkansas-born Fay Jones, the 1990 AIA Gold Medalist, today the school is constituted by nationally recognized degree programs in architecture, interior architecture and landscape architecture, as well as the award-winning University of Arkansas Community Design Center, the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation and Garvan Woodland Gardens, a botanical garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  

Across the school, students focus on issues of community with a global awareness, designing for the lives of real people and towards a better environment, through a responsible emphasis on the materiality and experience of design, preparing students to work productively across geographies, societies and cultures. 

DesignConnects’ mission is to create and nurture places and organizations using art and design, collaboration and civic leadership. DesignConnects provides services in design, nonprofit management, community engagement, advocacy, policy making, government operations and public/private partnerships, associated with culture, architecture, preservation, landscape and urban design and planning.  

Recent projects include Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden; NY Chinese Scholar’s Garden renovation; and Portland, Oregon’s Back to Square One: Rethinking O’Bryant Square.  

The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of nature. Since opening in 2011, the museum has welcomed more than 13 million visitors across its spaces, with no cost for admission. Crystal Bridges was founded in 2005 as a non-profit charitable organization by arts patron and philanthropist, Alice Walton. The collection spans five centuries of American masterworks from early American to current day and is enhanced by temporary exhibitions.  

The museum is nestled on 120 acres of Ozark landscape and was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A rare Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house was preserved and relocated to the museum grounds in 2015. Home of the prestigious Don Tyson Prize for the Advancement of American Art and Tyson Scholars of American Art Program, Crystal Bridges offers public programs including lectures, performances, classes, and teacher development opportunities.  

Some 478,375 school children have participated in the Willard and Pat Walker School Visit program, which provides educational experiences for school groups at no cost to the schools. Additional museum amenities include a restaurant, gift store, library, and five miles of art and walking trails.  

In February 2020, the museum opened the Momentary in Downtown Bentonville (507 SE E Street), conceived as a platform for the art, food, and music of our time. In 2026, Crystal Bridges will complete a 114,000 square foot expansion that will allow the museum to expand access for all. For more information, visit CrystalBridges.org. The museum is located at 600 Museum Way, Bentonville, Arkansas 72712.  

ABOUT LA BIENNALE ARCHITETTURA 

Established in 1895, La Biennale di Venezia is considered the most prestigious institution, with its International Art and Architecture Exhibitions. Introducing hundreds of thousands of visitors to exciting new architecture every two years, the 19th International Biennale Architettura of La Biennale di Venezia (May 10 to Nov. 23, 2025) will be curated by architect and engineer Carlo Ratti. Information about the Biennale Architettura 2025 is available at: labiennale.org/en/architecture/2025. 

The United States Pavilion at the Giardini della Biennale, a building in the neoclassical style, opened on May 4, 1930. Since 1986, The U.S. Pavilion has been owned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and managed by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, which works closely with the U.S. Department of State and exhibition curators to install and maintain all official U.S. exhibitions presented in the Pavilion. Every two years, museum curators from across the U.S. detail their visions for the U.S. Pavilion in proposals that are reviewed by the National Endowment of the Arts Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions, a group comprising curators, museum directors and artists who then submit their recommendations to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Past exhibitions can be viewed on the Peggy Guggenheim Collection website. 

The United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs supports and manages official U.S. participation at the International Art and Architecture Exhibitions of La Biennale di Venezia. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) builds relationships between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through academic, cultural, sports, professional and private exchanges, as well as public-private partnerships and mentoring programs.   

These exchange programs improve foreign relations and strengthen the national security of the United States, support U.S. international leadership and provide a broad range of domestic benefits by helping break down barriers that often divide us. ECA programs build connections that engage and empower people and motivate them to become leaders and thinkers, to develop new skills and to find connections that will create positive change in their communities. More information can be found on the Bureau’s website.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.