The Majlis

The Majlis by Caravane was designed and constructed by architects Simón Vélez and Stefana Simić in Colombia, in collaboration with Ahmed Chmitti and the Boujad Women’s Weaving Collective in Morocco. The Majlis is 100% handmade on two different continents, using bamboo and wool, two of the most renewable materials on earth. It will be assembled for the first time at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, in a wildflower garden planted by the landscape architect Todd Longstaffe-Gowan.

In 2015 UNESCO inscribed the majlis on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a social and cultural space. More than the sum of the physical walls of an architectural entity, the majlis is where culture is passed down from one generation to the next, where leaders counsel on community matters and where guests are greeted with open hearts. There is an Arab proverb, “Al Majlis, Madrasa” which means “The Majlis is a school”. In Venice, Caravane Earth's Majlis will be a space for storytelling, symposia and exchange, all in an effort to answer the question posed by 2021 Biennale di Venezia Curator Hashim Sarkis: How will we live together?