Arts University Plymouth postgraduate contributes to British Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale

<p>Selected as one of only 46 Fellows this year, Kizzy spent a month in Venice acting as an ambassador for <em>GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair</em>, a collaborative UK-Kenya exhibition that explores how architecture intersects with colonisation and climate change.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Alongside welcoming international visitors and leading exhibition tours, Fellows were invited to develop their own research-led projects in response to the Pavilion’s themes of repair, restitution and renewal. Kizzy’s research culminated in leading a collaborative clay workshop in the Biennale space to explore its tactile qualities and build a shared archive of textures from the Pavilion and surrounding Giardini.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kizzy said: “Over four weeks in Venice, I recorded fragments through video, clay imprints and cyanotypes in an attempt to document the many layers of the city. This documentation culminated in a workshop that I led with the Fellows, investigating the tactile qualities of the Biennale space and creating a collective archive that captured some of the textures of the Pavilion and the surrounding Giardini.”<br /></p>

<p>Kizzy’s selection speaks not only to her talent as a maker and educator but also to her deep commitment to social and environmental impact. It also reflects the growing role of Arts University Plymouth in shaping critical, future-facing conversations around craft and design.</p>

<p>The project strongly aligns with Arts University Plymouth’s expanding postgraduate vision. Last month the leading arts university launched a suite of new MA Design programmes with a core emphasis on circularity, systems-thinking and material innovation.</p> <p>These courses complement existing pathways such as the <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/ma-3d-design-crafts">MA Craft &amp; Material Practices</a>, which sees students like Kizzy explore materials from the ground up, literally and philosophically.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Kizzy is a <a href="https://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/directory/kizzy-rose-budd">Crafts Council Young Craft Citizen</a> and educator originally from London. She has led hands-on workshops in ceramics and crochet, often using reclaimed or second-hand materials. Her practice weaves together personal agency, collective knowledge and a desire to reconnect people with the origins of the objects that shape our daily lives.</p> <p dir="ltr">Her studies at Arts University Plymouth have brought her into close contact with the university’s world-class material labs and its ethos of sustainable, research-led practice. Now halfway through the part-time MA, she is using her Venice Fellowship as a springboard to deepen her enquiry into how traditional crafts can adapt to contemporary resource crises.<br /></p>

<p dir="ltr">The <a href="https://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/fellowship/venice-fellowships-2025">Venice Fellowships programme</a>, run by the British Council, partners with 24 UK and Kenyan institutions to offer early-career creatives the opportunity to contribute to one of the world’s most significant cultural events.</p> <p dir="ltr">With Fellows from over 20 nationalities in 2025, the scheme foregrounds multilingual, intercultural exchange and encourages artistic research that resonates across borders.<br /></p>

<p>The British Pavilion exhibition, <em>GBR – Geology of Britannic Repair</em>, is open until 23 November 2025. More information is available via the British Council at <a href="https://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/geology-britannic-repair">venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/geology-britannic-repair</a>.</p>