Team of Indigenous architects represents Canada at 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture

A group of 18 Indigenous architectsfrom Canada and the U.S. are in Italy for an international architecture exhibition.

The team is representing Canada at the 2018 Venice Biennale of Architecture with theircollaborative piece calledUnceded: Voices of the Land.

"We felt that the Indigenous voice was important, for us to share our stories and let people know that Indigenous architects are here and practising," said David Fortin.

"We have a different way to think about design and architecture."

Fortin, a co-curator of the project, is Mtisand the director of theMcEwenSchool of Architecture at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont.

Increating the collaborative piece, the group of architects agreed they wanted to bring in components of their own unique experiences as Indigenous people.

"We wanted each person to tell their story and how their approach of design reflects aspects of theirindigeneity," said Fortin.

A conversation of architecture

Gerald McMaster, another co-curator,is Plains Cree and a member of the Siksika First Nation in Alberta. He's alsoCanada Research Chair in Indigenous visual culture atOCADUniversity in Toronto.

"It is probably one of the most prestigious art fairs and architectural fairs in the world," he said of the Biennale.

Biennale means 'every other year' in Italian and within the art world used to describe large-scale gatherings of art and design.

"It's a way to kind of for all countries to come together and see where the conversation of architecture is at in the present moment,"saidMcMaster.

"You can check out what's going on around the world within our field."

The exhibit itself is an immersive experience beyond a traditional set of modelbuildings.

"The architecture is laid over with with voices, music, nature," said Fortin.

"The exhibit is trying to weave together all of these things, people, histories, ancestors, the lands ... Thecore messageis that Indigenous architecture needs all of those things."