Iva Njunjić and Tihomir Dičić will represent Serbia at the 18th International Venice Architecture Biennale with In Reflections…, an exhibition that uses the 1977 International Trade Fair in Lagos, Nigeria, a product of non-aligned cooperation between Yugoslavia and Nigeria, as a lens through which to explore futures, presents, and pasts of architecture.

The Non-Aligned Movement, founded in 1961 was a specific international organization whose core politics were embodied in anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, self-determination, and coexistence among states. The politics of non-alignment influenced societies of the young independent states of the African continent in the 1960s and 1970s, with many cities across the continent undergoing the process of transformation. Yugoslavia, as one of the leaders of this Movement, fostered active cooperation among member states, which was realized through numerous construction projects related to the modernization—industrialization and urbanization of young multinational countries in Africa, with many Yugoslav architects and engineers playing a notable role in shaping the projects on the ground. Among those operating in the non-aligned countries of the Global South, the Belgrade company Energoprojekt stood out. In more than forty countries across Africa, Asia and South America, numerous architects from this enterprise conceived buildings as reflections of the future, which upon being built became symbols of modernization and independence of these countries. Many of such projects congress centers, hotels, airports, and international fairs were conceived to be nods in the international infrastructure, aimed to connect African cities to the global map after a period of colonization as protagonists.

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