“Gentrification” and “Activity Playlist” on view at Venice’s Bauer Hotel

To coincide with the opening of the 15th Venice Architecture Biennale, Daata Editions and Zuecca Projects are presenting “Gentrification” and “Activity Playlist,” two exhibitions on view through November 27 at the Bauer Hotel’s BBAR Space.

“Gentrification” showcases new commissioned works by Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings. Located at the Spazio Ridotto, the show centers on the documentation and regeneration of the interiors of this historic gay bar as a space for queer discourse. With CGI animation, video installation, and archival text and audio, it presents a complex visual language to color the rapid growth and ultimate gentrification of gay villages.

The current climate of rapid redevelopment of gay neighborhoods has resulted in the closure of many LGBTQI community spaces across the U.K. The artists documented these disappearing spaces, as an important historical gesture and strategy for resisting assimilation. Filming the bars empty with a discrete go-pro camera, reveals the complex and varied visual language employed by these spaces in their self-representation as gay.

“Activity Playlist,” also up at BBAR in the Bauer Hotel, presents Michael Manning’s Daata Editions commission. Using the Internet as his medium, the L.A.-based artist has produced a series of video works called “Activity Playlist” that take their conceptual basis and form from playlists created by streaming services, such as Spotify. This series of video works aims to give visual form to the moods and themes conceptualized in playlists provided by streaming services.

The Bauer’s Zuecca Project Space, founded in 2011 by current director and project supervisor Alessandro Possati, is a non-profit space dedicated to sharing contemporary artistic projects and allowing constant exchange between local realities and international cultural institutions. The Bauer’s cultural vocation prompted its decision to carry out art projects during the major international events hosted by the city such as the biennial exhibitions of art and architecture and the Venice Film Festival.