I. curator statement
It is a work that will write its own history, because each visitor will find and share their own connection with it.
CONEXIÓN, created by LiLeón for St. George’s Anglican Church, is an interior architecture project and a concrete example of architecture that supports and encourages a state of coexistence between individuals inside the space.
CONEXIÓN, a work that integrates the language of art into interior architecture, has found a perfect home in Venice’s Anglican church thanks to its character as a communal, vibrant space, open to all artistic expression. The Anglican church is a pluralistic one, where diverse theological tendencies come together in harmony. St. George’s in particular acts as a spiritual center for many of Venice’s international residents. For several years, the church has been pursuing a policy of cultural openness towards the city, hosting art exhibitions and concerts.
“Discovering the interconnections between science, nature and spirituality, revealing the link between the intangible and the visible. My work reiterates the awareness of feeling that I am a reflection of a collective reality broader than personal individual reality. It reveals that we are all interconnected, like drops from the same Ocean…” – Lidia León
Starting from this holistic vision, the architect León has created an installation of archetypal form, that will turn the church into a sort of agora where diverse cultures meet.
The interior design project is composed of panels made with tobacco leaves that create a dynamic and living space. Inside, visitors can recognize the infinite web of relationships that creates the fabric of society, and rediscover their own connection to nature. The tobacco plants, which situate the work in a Caribbean landscape and are the foundation of the socioeconomic development of the Dominican Republic, are a recurring theme in LiLeón’s imagery: she was born and raised in a prominent family of tobacco farmers. In the hands of the artist, these large leaves become a raw material to be used in building and architecture, keeping the link to Mother Nature open.
A recent study by the California Institute of Technology discovered that the cells of tobacco plants are extremely strong, with mechanical properties similar to wood and superior to those of plastic of equal density. The possibility can therefore not be excluded that in the near future, tobacco leaves might be used in production processes as recycled material.
During these months of lockdown and pandemic, which have made the 17th Biennial an extraordinary historical event with an almost prophetic title, LiLeón finished her masterpiece: CONEXIÓN is a piece of living architecture, and a concrete example of how to think and work together. Many of LiLeón’s Dominican colleagues, along with prominent professionals in diverse fields, collaborated with her on the Pavilion project, all invited to reflect on the same question: “How will we live together?” Thanks to them, CONEXIÓN has become the choral expression of the far-sighted hopes of a nation.
Roberta Semeraro
Curator
II. Project conexión
The Dominican Republic participates in XVII Venice International Architecture Biennale 2021 with a dynamic, living project, an agora, offering gathering spaces in Dominican Republic and in Venice. CONEXIÓN curated by Roberta Semeraro is a installation full of symbolism by architect and artist Lidia León, inspired by wabi sabi philosophy and our bond with Mother Earth. It gathers dialogues, debates, reflections on the ethics of coexistence, urban planning and habitat, culture and heritage, tourism and sustainability… in a series of audiovisuals produced by Mario García Haya.
Installation
CONEXIÓN / Wabi-Sabi Series
Author: Architect and artist LiLeón
Technique: Installation, interior architecture
Dimensions: two parts 11 meters long X 4.40 meters high
Materials: gel-sealed tobacco leaves, clear PETG plastic, white parchment paper
St. George’s Anglican Church, Venice
Audiovisual series
Conexión X 3
Audiovisual Project
Filmmakers:
Lidia León Cabral/Mario García Haya
Video format:
Digital video HD, aspect ratio 16:9. Length: 45 min
St. George’s Anglican Church, Venice
Curator
Art Critic Roberta Semeraro
Territorio en Femenino (IN THE LAND OF WOMEN)
An encounter where the artist LiLeón, the sociologist Juan Miguel Pérez and the architect Jesus D’Alessandro reflect on the fundamental issues of society, creativity and territoriality, of how we make an impact on the present and face the future.
Audiovisual Project
Filmmakers: Alex Martínez Suárez/Mario García Haya
Video format: 3 digital videos HD, aspect ratio 16:9. Length: 45 min each one
St. George’s Anglican Church, Venice
The woman as the central axis, the female vision as the driving force of a series of changes. How a group of empowered women lead and design a series of transformations in the Dominican Republic in their different areas and professions; They speak to us about urbanism and habitat; culture and heritage; tourism and sustainability fro their own perspective.
Urbanismo y hábitat (urbanism and habitat)
Moderator:
Michelle Valdez, city planner
Shaney Peña Gómez, city planner
Mizoocky Mota, city planner
Yomayra Martinó, Attorney, Consultant on Sustainability and Climate Change
Cultura y patrimonio (Culture and heritage)
Moderator:
Carmen Ortega González, Architect
Ching Ling Ho, City Planner, Cultural Manager
Sara Hermann, Art Historian and Curator
Virginia Flores-Sasso, Conservationist Architect
Turismo y sostenibilidad (tourism and sustainability)
Moderator:
Elia Mariel Martínez, Architect, Consultant on Sustainable Tourism
Lissette Gil, Sustainable Tourism Specialist
Romina Santroni, Attorney, Environmental and Tourism Consultant
Maribel Villalona, City Planner, Tourism Planner
UNA CIUDAD VIVIBLE (A Livable City)
VISION OF TRAZA_DO FOR SANTO DOMINGO.
Audiovisual Project
Filmmakers: Melisa Vargas/Mario García Haya
Video format: digital video HD, aspect ratio 16:9. Length: 45 min
St. George’s Anglican Church, Venice
The city and its daily tread. Its streets, its public spaces, from the pedestrian to the driver. The insight of a group architects who plan, manage, rethink and transform the livability and traffic flow of the complex large city Santo Domingo has become today.
Rafael Selman, architect
Dante Luna, architect
Javier Pérez, architect
José Marion-Landais, architect
Alejandro Marranzini, architect
Carlos Aguilar, architect
Liza Ortega, architect
Keith Thomas, publicist
Laura Troncoso, attorney
Santiago Camarena, financier
Yaqui Núñez, Strategist and public relations
Exhibitors / Participants
Lidia León Cabral and Alex Martínez Suárez, Jesús D’Alessandro, Juan Miguel Pérez, Julia Vicioso Varelas, Orisell Medina-Lagrange, Traza_do (Collective of architects Melisa Vargas, Rafael Selman, Dante Luna, Javier Pérez, José Marion-Landais Alejandro Marranzini, Carlos Aguilar), Michelle Valdéz, Shaney Peña Gómez, Mizoocky Mota, Yomayra Martinó, Carmen Ortega, Ching Ling Ho, Sara Hermann, Virginia Flores-Sasso, Elia Mariel Martínez, Lissette Gil, Romina Santroni, Maribel Villala
Commissioner
Minister of Culture of the Dominican Republic – Carmen Heredia de Guerrero
On Site-Representative for the Commissioner Iris Peynado
Curator
Critic of art Roberta Semeraro
Organizers
Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic
LiLeón Foundation
Cultural Association RO.SA.M.
Collaborators
Aidita Selman – General Manager
Rafael Melo Carram – Strategic Planning
Mario García Haya – Audiovisual Producer
Felix Fernandéz – Editor
Lourdes Saleme & Associates – Graphic Design
Carlos Lora – Digital Images
Lidia Viyella León -Text revision
Luis José Viyella León – Logistic and assembly
Domingo Batista, Luis Nova, Jean Alberto Rodríguez – Photographers
Paddy Bianca Ieromazzo – Spanish/English translations
Koribe choir – Concert
StudioBegnini – Press Office
Clemens F. Kusch – Director of fittings
Michele Crosera & Maurizio Rossi – Photographers
Chiara Spina – Administrative procedures banner
Costanza Salini – Curatorial Assistant
Mara Gerety – Italian/English translations
Geraldine Ludbrook – Relations with St. George’s Anglican Church
Liesl Odenweller, cantante – Venice Music Project
Venice Music Project – Concert
Natividad Brand Brito, Dance choreography – Concert
Supporters
Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic
Ministry of Foreign Affair of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic Embassy in Rome, Italy
Sponsors
Fundación LiLeón, and Banco BHD León
Special Thanks
S. E. Roberto Álvarez – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic
S. E. Tony Raful – Ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Rome, Italy
S. E. Mario Arvelo – Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the U.N. agencies in Rome, Italy
David Collado – Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic
Roberto Fulcar – Minister of Education of the Dominican Republic
Gamal Michelén – Vice Minister of Culture of the Dominican Republic
Carolina Mejía – Mayor of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Fr Malcolm McNeille Bradshaw, Chaplain of St. George’s and to the whole Anglican community
Unión de Escuelas y Facultades de Arquitectura de República Dominicana
Dominican Studies Asociation, New York
Leyda Brea y Francesco Gravina, Lecturing architects
María Amalia León, Eduardo León Jimenes Foundation President and Centro León Director
Guillermo León Herbert, La Aurora President
Jorge Aguayo, Industrias Aguayo de Construcción General Manager