Every day (dare I say every hour?) my inbox is flooded with press releases, mostly from local firms touting their clients restaurants proclaiming new menus, wine dinners, summer dishes et al. I also receive PR from national and international companies, again, mostly talking about food or dining trends or, most recently, the top ten American cities with “the most useless kitchens” (In case you were wondering, New Orleans did NOT place in their top ten, or the top 20).
So when I got home this morning and opened my email, imagine my surprise when I see I have my first-ever PR from the U.S. Department of State – an event in and of itself worth wowing about – announcing an exhibition representing the United States at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale entitle “PORCH: An Architecture of Generosity”.
As you may or may not know, I wrote a fun little piece of fluff about porches in New Orleans for Where Y’at Magazine back in April of last year. I felt amused and a little proud thinking perhaps someone in the State Department actually read it and deemed it worthy-enough to send me the release. A girl can dream?
Regardless of my ego-driven fantasies, I think the exhibition, created by The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, University of Arkansas, in partnership with Design Connects and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, is one I’d love to see.
The exhibition will focus on the representation of the United States through the contemporary manifestation of the porch in American architecture – a quintessential constructed place that is at once social and environmental, tectonic and performative, hospitable and intimate, generous and democratic. The porch is an unheralded American archetype, found at all scales in cities and towns, in every region of the country. Through an exhibition design of multiple scales, experiences, media, and engagements, the commissioners and design team intend to spotlight the character, value, and contemporary purpose of the porch in American culture across the nation.
All of the events at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale will run from May 10 through November 23, 2025. Perhaps I can save up enough money to visit Italy and see the exhibition for myself . . .
