A Proud Moment at the Venice Architecture Biennale

8th May 2025

“HOME AS COUNTRY” is Australia’s official exhibition at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, held at the Australia Pavilion from May 8 to May 15. This groundbreaking project is the first to be led entirely by an all-First Nations design team, comprising Dr. Michael Mossman (Kuku Yalanji), Prof. Emily McDaniel (Wiradjuri), and Jack Gillmer-Lilley (Worimi & Biripi Guri) .

The exhibition offers an immersive, participatory experience that invites visitors to explore the concept of “home” through the lens of Country—emphasizing Indigenous knowledge systems, cultural practices, and architectural innovation. Through interactive installations, storytelling, and dialogue, “HOME AS COUNTRY” seeks to foster meaningful conversations about the role of First Nations Peoples in shaping the built environment and our collective understanding of home

Today marks the official opening of HOME: Starting the Story — the first chapter of Australia’s presentation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. As sponsors of this important initiative, we are incredibly proud to support a project that so powerfully centres First Nations voices, stories, and knowledge systems in the future of architecture.

Curated by an all-First Nations team — Dr Michael Mossman, Prof Emily McDaniel, and Jack Gillmer-Lilley — HOME AS COUNTRY invites us to reimagine the built environment through the lens of deep cultural connection and care for Country. Today’s event, from 2:00–3:00pm, brings together the creative directors to share the personal and collective narratives that informed the exhibition — and sets the stage for a week of immersive dialogue, learning, and reflection.

As architects, we see the theme HOME AS COUNTRY not as a metaphor, but as a call to action. Architecture in Australia must reckon with the fact that every project takes place on unceded Indigenous land. This exhibition reminds us that architecture isn’t neutral — it’s a tool that can either separate or reconnect us to place, to story, and to each other.

By supporting this program, we reaffirm our commitment to design that acknowledges and respects the Country it sits on. We believe that cultural leadership must be embedded in the foundations of our profession, and that genuine co-design with First Nations communities should be standard practice — not exception.

If you’re in Venice this week, we encourage you to spend time in the Australia Pavilion. Listen. Participate. Reflect. Let this be the start of your own deeper engagement with the Country you call home.