The 10th Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture (UABB) is underway in Shenzhen, turning the city into a platform for international discourse on the future of urban centres. This year’s theme, City Theatre, is designed to highlight the blending of technology, art, and public spheres.
The exhibition has attracted a wide array of talent, featuring 489 works contributed by over 800 participants from 21 countries and regions globally.
The main exhibition is housed at Shenzhen Talent Park, with a parallel venue operating out of the Hetao Science and Technology Innovation Centre. The biennale is scheduled to run until March and is further distributed across nine additional satellite sites located in six different city districts.
First held in 2005, UABB is an international exhibition dedicated exclusively to the subject of city life and urbanisation. This year’s edition is a collaborative effort, curated by architect Zhu Tao, artist Shen Shaomin, and scientist Ding Ning.
[See more: GBA Voices: Macao architect Christine Choi on doing business in the Greater Bay Area]
The City Theatre concept presents the modern metropolis as a shared stage where digital tools and AI are actively eroding established professional and social boundaries, fostering a new model of shared urban experience. According to the curatorial team, the theme goes beyond mere dramatic tension, allowing the exhibition to evolve as a fluid, dynamic process that remains “unfinished” and open to future possibilities.
A dedicated section at the main venue, titled “Ten Acts, Ten Realms,” provides an interactive retrospective by revisiting the themes of all ten biennales through a series of installations, offering a journey through a decade of urban commentary.
The Hetao parallel venue meanwhile focuses on speculative urban futures. Key sections include “Robot Theatre,” which examines the growing coexistence between humans and machines, and “Off-World Theatre,” an immersive mixed-reality installation that simulates a landscape on Mars. This venue also features four distinct special pavilions: the UABB Pavilion, the Hong Kong Pavilion, the Netherlands Pavilion, and the Hetao Pavilion.
