How will we live in the Anthropocene? A scientific guided tour at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.

The 17th International Architecture Exhibition organized by La Biennale di Venezia ran from 22 May to 21 November 2021 with the title “How will we live together?”. Its main were the social and political questions on the rapidly changing social norms, the political polarization between left and right, climate change, and the growing gap between labor and capital. In the context of the exposition the ongoing collaboration between La Biennale and CNR-ISMAR lead to the development of a guided tour in the Central Pavillion and in the Danish pavilion targeted toward primary schools (6-11 years old). The guided visit used the art pieces presented as a starting point to discuss different aspects Ocean Literacy, climate change and human impacts on the environment with on site explanations and activities to be held once back in class. The tour was divided into three sections: 1) how the Earth-system works and what is the Anthropocene; 2) What are the direct impacts of human activities on the oceans; 3) Which are the consequences of those impact on mankind. A total of 41 classes from primary schools in the Veneto region participated the visit and were later monitored for satisfaction and retention of the information provided during the visit.

In the La Biennale CNR-ISMAR collaboration this was a first attempt to create a guided tour on Ocean Literacy using as a starting point an already established architecture exposition.