Dutch Pavilion re-imagines the sports bar at Venice Architecture Biennale

Italy – Curated by Amanda Pinatih and designed by Gabriel Fontana, Sidelined re-imagines the traditional sports bar as a welcoming, non-binary social space. Through games like Multiform, played on a three-sided field, and Anonymous Allyship, which removes visual team identifiers, the installation encourages visitors to reflect on belonging and fluidity. 

‘We asked ourselves how we could use queering methodologies to transform the sports bar into a place where anyone can feel seen and valued,’ said Pinatih. Fontana added: ‘The pavilion invites visitors to engage actively, reflect critically and envision new possibilities for more compassionate communities.’

Set inside the Gerrit Rietveld-designed pavilion and curated for Het Nieuwe Instituut, the project draws on queer theory and challenges binary competition norms in sport, offering a timely call to rethink social connection in an increasingly polarised world. 

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