Flamingo Revolution to be presented at the Rotterdam Architecture Biennale

The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam will welcome Albania’s Flamingo Revolution in its edition running from September 18 to November 29, 2026.

The Albanian Artists and Architects for the Flamingo Revolution collective will present the installation “They Say ‘Development,’ We Say ‘Land Grab.’”

Through this spatial intervention, the voice, materials and experience of the movement that emerged in Albania will be brought to the Biennale.

For nearly four months, Albanians have protested in the streets every day in a movement now known as the Flamingo Revolution. The initiative was initially sparked by plans to build a resort inside a protected lagoon that is home to flamingos and other species.

However, the protest did not remain merely an objection to a specific project, but grew into a revolt against Prime Minister Edi Rama’s development agenda, which, according to the movement, is increasingly favoring elites at the expense of the public interest.

Materials produced on the ground by protesters will be exhibited in Rotterdam. They include original 10 x 2-meter banners used during the demonstrations, which Flamingo Revolution activists have unfurled along the threatened shores of Zvërnec and Sazan Island.

The exhibition also includes a flock of polystyrene flamingos used by protesters every night during the demonstrations, as well as a series of postcards from Albania.

Visitors will be invited to send these postcards to EU representatives, calling for the repeal of Law 21/2024. This legislation has made it possible to open national parks and protected areas to major tourism and infrastructure projects.

Through its participation in the Biennale, the collective aims to use this space and time as a form of support for the movement, taking its message beyond Albania’s borders.

The question raised is how an architecture biennale can support a movement that, beyond its representation, is already creating its own forms of spatial knowledge, organization and resistance.

The Albanian Artists and Architects for the Flamingo Revolution (AAAFR) collective consists of an open group of artists, architects and activists.

It was formed on the streets of Tirana and other cities through daily involvement in the protests since the movement began.

The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam is a cultural institution that fosters discussion of contemporary spatial issues and holds its thematic editions every two years.