Northumbria researchers secure Venice Biennale Fellowships

Two PhD researchers from Northumbria University have been awarded Venice Fellowships by the British Council and will represent the UK internationally at the 2025 Venice Biennale.

For the second consecutive year, as part of Northumbria’s partnership with the British Council, the successful Fellows will each spend a month in the historic Italian city where they will engage with visitors and support activities within the British Pavilion during one of the world’s most important art and architecture biennales.

Alternating between art and architecture each year, the Venice Biennale attracts around half a million visitors. A celebration of art and architecture, the Biennale explores themes of politics and contemporary cultural and social issues through performance, sculpture and installations.

Curator and researcher at Northumbria’s School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries, Harriette Moore, and Assistant Professor of Architecture and researcher, Tim Ingleby, from the University’s Department of Architecture and Built Environment are among 46 Fellows who will also be given time to develop their own creative and research projects during their one-month experience in Venice this summer.

Harriette began her month in Venice with the British Council, at what is the 19th International Architecture Exhibition, at the beginning of May. The theme of this year’s British Pavillion is The Geology of Britannic Repair. It is home to the UK-Kenya collaborative exhibition which explores reversing colonial impacts through local architectural repair practices, while celebrating connections between the two countries. 

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to bring my creative practice to the heart of Venice for this important occasion,” explained Harriette, who holds an AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Partnership award within the National Gallery and the Bowes Museum consortium.

“My project, entitled Corti, Calli, Campielli, explores shared words and shared spaces. Inspired by these uniquely Venetian words for public space, meaning ‘courtyards, alleys and squares’ respectively, my research explores the significance of open space in Venice in the past, present and future. 2025 marks 525 years since the creation of Jacopo de Barbari’s map which depicts a bird’s eye view of Venice. Using this print as a starting point, the project produces case studies of the ‘campo’, the historic centre of community in Venice.”

“Venice is historically a culturally diverse city. I’d like to create future inspiring exhibitions that embrace collaboration and foster inclusivity across communities, so the research I’m working on as part of the Fellowship also considers cultural interaction in the city’s largest public spaces. It explores how marginalised groups experience(d) communal space, and the interaction of cultures and lives through shared space and the shared words that define it.”

Tim Ingleby, who trained and practiced as an Architect for 10 years before moving into academia, is preparing to spend June in Venice as part of his Fellowship. Also taking inspiration from the creation of the woodcut map by Venetian painter and engraver, Jacopo de Barbari, Tim’s planned research project will document the history of the small boatyards in Venice where expert artisans handcraft and repair wooden boats, including the gondolas the city is famous for.

Tim explained: “Barbari’s woodcut View of Venice map from 1500 depicts some of the dozens of Squeri or small boatyards that once existed. Today only a small handful remain. My research project aims to record and depict the architecture and activities of these unique places of repair while they still remain. For so long they were responsible for maintaining the boats that transported food, fuel, water and mercantile goods around the city and are steeped in history and important skills at real risk of being lost. As far as I understand it there may be as few as five boatyards left.

“I am grateful for the opportunity this Fellowship will give me at this point in my career. I’m excited by the idea of having an extended period of time somewhere like Venice, when I have reasons to seek out places off the beaten track that will give me a different feel for the city and a different perspective.”

Alongside Tim’s architectural study documenting the historical development and architectural characteristics of the Venetian boatyards, he aims to record via photography how the distinctive spaces are occupied today.

Mary Krell, Professor of Creative Media and Deputy Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) for Arts, Design and Social Sciences at Northumbria, said: “The Venice Biennale is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world and we are incredibly proud to once again have two of our talented researchers awarded Fellowships by the British Council. Known for its international art, architecture, film, dance, music and theatre exhibitions, the event is a reference point for artists, scholars and enthusiasts globally.

“This opportunity will allow both Harriette and Tim to represent the UK while pursuing their own individual research interests and immersing themselves in the amazing history, culture and creativity Venice has to offer. I have no doubt they will be inspired by their experience.”

Discover more about the Venice Fellowships and cultural and creative research at Northumbria.