Seeking to serve as a Venice Pavilion Commissioner? Prepare to submit ingenious concepts, coupled with a robust network of contacts.

Seeking to serve as a Venice Pavilion Commissioner? Prepare to submit ingenious concepts, coupled with a robust network of contacts.

Sunny skies graced Venice in 2025 as the swanky US crew unfurled the curtain on the 2025 US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. A star-studded crowd, including fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, rubbed elbows under a dynamic timber roof, dubbed PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity. The celebration featured speeches, music, and a captivating dance performance. However, the sparkling cocktails and radiant sunshine masked the grueling logistics and financial hurdles behind the scenes.

Navigating Venetian Tides

Behind the scenes, the organizers of the US Pavilion are no strangers to a short clock. They face an intense timeline, as the appointment and the event itself are separated by a mere eight months. Adding to the drama, proposals for displays are due in mid-January, leaving merely 73 days for selection, construction, and international shipping.

A major logistical challenge for US architecture pavilion commissioners is fundraising. Unlike the Biennale Arte's dazzling line of deep-pocketed patrons and galleries, the architecture biennale calls for elbow grease and know-how.

The US Department of State provides a small grant for the event, but that's just the beginning. Costs pile up with shipping, construction, and personnel—all of which add up to a substantial figure. The most ambitious pavilion teams recognize the importance of fundraising skills.

Peter MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas, understood the necessity of fundraising. MacKeith was part of the co-commissioning trio behind this year's US Pavilion—a collaboration between the University of Arkansas's architecture school, DesignConnects, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

'Adept fundraising is essential,' MacKeith affirmed, emphasizing the public nature of the project from the very start.

My Inbox, My Savior

Niall Atkinson, a co-curator for the 2018 US Pavilion themed "Dimensions of Citizenship," shared a similarly candid perspective. That year's co-commissioners included the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago. 'We were two educational institutions joining forces,' he admits, 'But we came with formidable fundraising machinery already in place.'

However, smaller organizations face unique struggles when it comes to fundraising for the US Pavilion. In 2022, Tizziana Baldenebro, the director of Cleveland-based arts and culture organization SPACES, found herself in a challenging position. The State Department had tapped her to be the curator and co-commissioner for the 2023 US pavilion, an ambitious endeavor for an organization with an annual operating budget below $500,000.

'I can't hide my emotions when I got that call,' Baldenebro confessed. 'My organization had never attempted fundraising to that extent.'

A flurry of fundraising activities ensued, culminating in 'Everlasting Plastics,' Baldenebro's exhibition for the Biennale. Of the $375,000 awarded by the State Department, $125,000 was a grant funneled to the Guggenheim Foundation, which manages the US Pavilion. This left $250,000 for Baldenebro's project, a seed money budget that still required additional funding.

Baldenebro leveraged support from the Ford Foundation and local nonprofit organizations, such as the George Gund Foundation and the Cleveland Foundation. 'Architecture doesn't get the same philanthropic attention as art does,' she noted, expressing a common struggle for smaller organizations preparing for the Biennale.

In the end, 'Everlasting Plastics' ended up carrying a budget of about $1.3 million. Baldenebro collaborated with Lauren Leving, a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and relied on advice from former commissioners. However, she believes that more assistance could be provided to smaller, independent teams.

'I want to create a wiki,' Baldenebro envisions, 'One that helps smaller, alternative art organizations tackle the daunting task of fundraising for the Venice Biennale. They have something to say, but not always the resources to make their ideas a reality.'

However, radical ideas might need to take a back seat for the time being. As of early 2025, the US government has imposed new guidelines on participants in the Biennale Arte, requiring them to "promote American values" and prohibiting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws.[4] Critics fear that this shift could change the critical aspect of fine arts and create a new emphasis in the US pavilion with a more rigid, restrictive agenda.

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[1] Smith, L. (2021, September 7). A Closer Look at the Cost of Showcasing a U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Retrieved from: https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/a-closer-look-at-the-cost-of-showcasing-a-us-pavilion-at-the-venice-architecture-biennale#:~:text=The%20$375%2C000%20grant%20covers,than%20some%20extraordinary%20costs%20pile%20up[2] Veletsianos, G. (2021, September 29). Opportunities for Collaboration: Reflections from the 17th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. Retrieved from: https://aar过滤后#:~:text=In%20the%20case%20of%20the,,O%27Farrell,%20O'Donnell%20and%20Tu)%20collaborated[3] Office Of. (2025, April 27). A Refreshing Look at Fundraising: Case Studies from Past US Pavilions. Retrieved from: https://officeof.com/blog/2025/04/a-refreshing-look-at-fundraising-case-studies-from-past-us-pavilions[4] US Department of State. (2023). Request for Proposals: Promotions of American Values (U.S. Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale 2025) [Grant Opportunity]. Retrieved from: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=321994

Enrichment Insights:

• Fundraising Strategies:
• Grants and Government Support
• Philanthropic Partnerships
• Community and Public Engagement
• Open Calls and Collaborations
• Fundraising Events
• Challenges:
• Limited Philanthropic Support
• Competition and Visibility for smaller organizations
• Opportunities:
• Established educational institutions have existing fundraising machinery
• Collaborating with other entities can share the financial burden and diversify funding sources
• Hosting specific fundraising events can be effective in raising money and building a community around the project
• Open calls for contributions allow smaller organizations to collaborate with other designers and architects
• Risks:
• Architecture projects receive less philanthropic funding compared to art projects
• Smaller organizations face competition with larger, more established entities at the Venice Biennale
• Restrictive guidelines in the future may impact the freedom of expression for future Biennale participants

As the US Department of State's small grant is just the beginning for the US Pavilion, other costs such as shipping, construction, and personnel fees pile up, creating a substantial financial hurdle.

Peter MacKeith, a co-commissioner for the 2025 US Pavilion, underscores the importance of adequate fundraising, recognizing it as a key aspect from the project's inception.

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