Canadian Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale Highlights Canadian Cities as Cinematic Doubles


Toronto's Dundas and Ossington intersection, re-imagined as 1962 Baltimore by special effects studio MR. X for the film The Shape of Water. Image Courtesy of The Canadian Pavilion

Toronto's Dundas and Ossington intersection, re-imagined as 1962 Baltimore by special effects studio MR. X for the film The Shape of Water. Image Courtesy of The Canadian Pavilion

Canada’s contribution to the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale explores Canadian cities’ established “career” in cinema as stand-ins for the world’s metropoles, raising questions of authenticity, architectural identity and the collective understanding of the built environment. Curated by David Theodore of McGill University and realized by Montréal architecture and design practice T B A / Thomas Balaban Architect, the exhibition Impostor Cities highlights the diversity and versatility of Canada’s cityscapes as portrayed on film.

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