PTEN
Trienal de 
“Earth is shifting: climate intensifications, new modes of cohabitation, new hopes, new technologies, new plans. Yet the new figure that is emerging is one burdened with the complex upheavals of contemporaneity: extinctions, inertia, war, accumulation of power.
How to think of projects, how to imagine new cities, how to construct new forms together? These are questions that multiply the simple one that opens the Lisbon Triennale as a research platform.”
Ann-Sofi Rönnskog and John Palmesino, Territorial Agency
First Messy Studio featuring: Shaul Bassi, Head of Studies of Environmental Humanities at the Ca'Foscari University; Mónica Bello, Head of Arts at CERN; Andreia Garcia, Curator of the Portuguese Pavilion; and Lela Rekhviashvili, Researcher at Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography; and Mark Williams, Professor of Palaeontology at the University of Leicester. Moderated by Territorial Agency, with opening and closing remarks by Tinatin Gurgenidze, Co-curator of the Georgian Pavilion, and Manuel Henriques, Executive Director of the Triennale.
As part of the European New Temporality programme, the 7th edition kick-off hosted by the Georgian Pavilion marks the beginning of a preparatory sessions’ cycle that fuels the discussion, inspires connections, and fosters new inquiries. If in Venice, pitch in the discussion and have a toast with us.
Shaul Bassi is professor of English at Ca’ Foscari University and director of its Masters in Environmental Humanities. His research, teaching and publications span issues ranging from post-colonial theory to Jewish studies and Venice’s contemporary environmental and social issues. He is a former director of the Venice literary festival and of the International Center for the Humanities and Social Change at Ca’Foscari.
Mónica Bello is an art historian, curator and head of Arts at CERN. Her work focuses on the intersections between culture and science, promoting artistic endeavours that engage with the scientific community. She was previously artistic director of VIDA at Fundación Telefónica, and has curated the Icelandic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2022.
Andreia Garcia is an architect, researcher and curator of the Portuguese representation at Biennale Architettura. Her work focus on spatial practices in an age of technological leaps and ecological crises. She is the founder of Architectural Affairs studio and Galeria de Arquitectura gallery, having previously lectured at Universidade do Minho, Architectural Association and currently at Universidade da Beira Interior.
Lela Rekhviashvili is a researcher at Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography. Her work focuses on infrastructure-led development and infrastructure’s role in (re-)claiming socialist and capitalist modernities. She has also been published on issues as marketisation, social embeddedness, urban mobility, informality and social movements.
Mark Williams is a Palaeontologist and Professor at the University of Leicester. He has examined over three decades the evolution of life over geological timescales. His current research delves into the patterns of human induced changes to life, and possible ways to avert a manmade mass extinction. He has been involved since its inception with the Anthropocene Working Group.