Building With Heart and Country: First Nations Architects Represent Australia at Venice Biennale
Australia’s first all-Indigenous architecture team is redefining what “home” means at the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture, crafting a rammed-earth pavilion that speaks to Country, community, and cultural strength.
When Culture Speaks Louder Than Concrete
Forget steel and skyscrapers – Australia’s representation at the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture is all about grounding design in Country, culture, and community.
Meet The Creative Sphere, a collective of seven First Nations architects who’ve hand-built a monumental, sustainable structure titled Home inside the Australian Pavilion. With clay, plaster, plywood, and sheer determination, they’ve constructed something as powerful as it is poetic. And they’ve done it in true Aussie fashion – with wheelbarrows, teamwork, and not a single screw in sight.
At a time when Creative Australia faces backlash over cancelling its 2026 art representation, this architecture team has stepped up, quietly and creatively, to make a global statement.
Project Breakdown: What Is “Home”?
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Pavilion Name | Home |
| Team Name | The Creative Sphere |
| Team Members | Jack Gillmer-Lilley, Bradley Kerr, Kaylie Salvatori, Emily McDaniel, Michael Mossman, Elle Davidson, Clarence Slockee |
| Structure Type | Rammed-earth prototype, built on-site in Venice |
| Size | 4.8 metres x 9 metres |
| Materials Used | Local clay, plaster, plywood from Veneto region |
| Assembly | 139 hand-cast panels; no screws, glue, or metal fixings used |
| Construction Method | All materials manually hauled via barge and wheelbarrow |
| Exhibition Venue | Australian Pavilion, Venice Giardini |
| Dismantling Plan | Full deconstruction; materials returned to landscape post-Biennale |
Reflections on “Home”: A Place Beyond Bricks
Jack Gillmer-Lilley (Worimi and Biripi Guri):
“Home for me is where I feel connected with my family – regardless of where in the world I am.”
Bradley Kerr (Quandamooka):
“It used to be where Mum is. Now it’s wherever I share in my son’s smile and stupid fart jokes.”
Their work isn’t about projecting a singular vision, but rather inviting everyone who enters to discover what “home” means for them. As Kerr put it, it’s about generosity – even in the face of rejection, racism, and referendum defeat.
Political Context: Shadow Over the Art Pavilion
| Issue | Detail |
|---|---|
| 2026 Venice Art Pavilion | Project for artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino cancelled |
| Team Reaction | Publicly condemned the decision, calling it “censorship and marginalisation” |
| Broader Significance | Their architectural response doubles as cultural resistance and healing |
This team didn’t begin the project intending to respond to the failed 2023 Voice referendum or government cancellations, but their message evolved with the moment.
Indigenous Excellence in Architecture: By the Numbers
| Statistic or Project | Detail |
|---|---|
| Indigenous architecture grads | 0.3% of all Australian architecture graduates |
| Award-winning Indigenous projects | Darlington Public School (FJC Studio), Yellamundie Library, Powerhouse Place, Spinifex Hill Project |
| Global recognition | Yellamundie Library listed among world’s four most beautiful new libraries |
| AIA involvement | Growing focus on Indigenous-led and Country-connected design |
Stuart Tanner (former AIA president):
“This is a whole other layer to architecture… It’s going to elevate Australian architecture beyond traditional expectations.”
Statement of Strength: “Joy as Resistance”
For The Creative Sphere, Home is a deeply personal, cultural, and architectural act.
“People expect marginalised people to feel sadness. But our strength comes from joy. Joy itself can be an act of resistance.”
— Bradley Kerr
Final Word: Building a Pavilion, Laying Foundations for the Future
At a time when First Nations voices are still fighting for space at home, these architects are commanding the world stage – and doing so with integrity, creativity, and quiet power. From the hand-pressed clay to the unshakable cultural conviction, Home is less a building than a living message.
Australia may be facing cultural silence in the next Biennale, but in 2025, the voices inside the Australian Pavilion are speaking loud and clear.
