- Posted on 6 May 2025
- 3 minutes read
This year, the Australia Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale marks a historic moment: a powerful assertion that Country-centred design practices are not just relevant, but essential to the future of architecture. Under the leadership of an all-First Nations Creative Directors team, the Pavilion’s exhibition, HOME, offers an open invitation to share knowledge, engage in dialogue, and embrace cultural truth-telling through architecture.
The Biennale, the world’s most prestigious and influential event for architecture since 1895 often sets the tone for the discipline globally. In 2025, for the first time ever, student work will also be presented, opening the doors for future practitioners to stand alongside professionals on this international platform. Among them will be students whose work has been nurtured through UTS initiatives.
UTS School of Architecture is proud to announce our role as a Venice Partner supporting the Australian Pavilion this year, placing the University’s commitment to Indigenous thinking and learning firmly on the world stage. This involvement highlights not only the innovative work of our School of Architecture but strengthens UTS’s reputation for Indigenous recognition, opportunity, and advancement.
At the heart of this year’s exhibition is our very own Professor of Practice Emily McDaniel, a curator and artist from the Kalari Clan of the Wiradjuri nation in Central New South Wales who is a key member of the HOME Creative Sphere. This is the second time a UTS Professor of Practice has been part of the Australian Pavilion’s curatorial leadership, a unique achievement unmatched by any other School of Architecture in the country.
Adding further to UTS’s impact, Dr Endriana Audisho (Lecturer and Public Programs Director) and Matte Ager-McConnell (Lecturer and Design Director, garigarra) led the national intensive elective, Home: Country as Creative Process, from January to February 2025. This landmark program brought together 11 universities across Australia and played a pivotal role in the inclusion of student work at this year’s Biennale, an unprecedented move that highlights the next generation of architects and thinkers.
"It was a privilege to learn from students as they deepened their connection and meaning of Home. Through a process of yarning, students found their own voice and listened deeply to one another – a critical methodology redefining why and how we practice today. As educators, this process reaffirmed our belief that teaching with, and being led by, Country re-centres practices of care and responsibility."
-Matte Ager-McConnell and Dr Endriana Audisho
UTS’s participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale is part of a proud tradition of global engagement. In 2012, Professors Anthony Burke and Gerard Reinmuth curated the Australian Pavilion’s Formation exhibition, a groundbreaking moment that reflected UTS’s national leadership in professional practice and practice-ready education.
As the world turns its attention to Venice this May, UTS stands at the forefront, helping to reshape architectural thinking with a spirit of respect, reciprocity, and innovation grounded in the enduring wisdom of Australia’s First Nations peoples.
(Photo credit: Illustration of HOME by Dr Michael Mossman, Emily McDaniel and Jack Gillmer-Lilley)
Hear what our students had to say about the elective subject, ‘Home: Country as Creative Process’:
This elective allowed me to broaden my definition of home beyond the physical structure, pushing me to reflect on what home truly means to me—a space shaped by ritual, memory, and people. It was a personal and confronting studio that helped me understand El bet betak—‘the house is your house’—not just as a phrase, but as a quiet act of care and an invitation to belong.
Alaa Elkordy
Master of Architecture student
The HOME elective was like no other. A vessel for intense self-exploration, to strengthen understandings of Country and ultimately to connect deeply with peers. Something I wouldn’t think I would find in Architecture School.
Mia Marven
Master of Architecture student
Working on this project ignited a profound, soul-searching journey that reconnected me with my heritage and invited a deeper reflection on what ‘home’ truly means. It became a personal exploration of memory, identity, and belonging, where cultural traditions and lived experiences were translated into spatial expressions, grounding my sense of self through materiality and storytelling.
Yaridna Al-zuhairi
Architecture student
I've always wanted to share my experience in an educational setting, to learn more about myself and others, but I am usually too shy. However, under the guidance of Country in my exploration of HOME, I remained anxious, but I also felt a sense of pride in myself and my work in a way I haven't before.
Matthew Arkins
Bachelor of Architecture student
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