The Venice Biennale will open to the public on May 11 to November 24.

VENICE:

This year, 79 artists and collectives will be featured in “May You Live In Interesting Times” – the 58th Venice Biennale’s International Art Exhibition on show at the Italian city’s Giardini and the Arsenale. Curated by the director of London’s Hayward Gallery, Ralph Rugoff, the exhibition will not follow a specific theme but will highlight “a general approach to making art and a view of art’s social function as embracing both pleasure and critical thinking.”

National pavilions

The Venice Biennale will feature 90 national participations with their own exhibitions in the Pavilions at the Giardini and the Arsenale, as well as around the city center of Venice. This May, several countries will be making their Venice Biennale debut at the 58th edition of the edition, including Madagascar, Ghana and Pakistan.

Algeria’s first-time participation, initially scheduled for this year, has been postponed to 2021 – the Algerian Ministry of Culture citing financial and preparatory problems. Kazakhstan — which was also inaugurating its first-ever national pavilion – pulled out from the 58th International Art Exhibition in March.

Highlights from the 58th edition’s national exhibitions include the contemporary opera performance “Sun and Sea (Marina)” that will transform the Lithuanian pavilion into an artificially lit beach; the Gandhi-themed “Our Time for the Future Caring” in the Indian pavilion; and the three-part video installation “Family Album” – on show in the Kosovo pavilion – which narrates the struggles of refugees during the Kosovo War.

Collateral events

For the first time, the Venice Biennale will also host a dynamic performance program alongside “May You Live in Interesting Times.” The project — co-produced by the biennale and the London-based nonprofit Delfina Foundation – will feature 14 live performances that bridge music, movement, and visual art. Among the selected artists are Alex Baczynski-Jenkins, Paul Maheke & Nkisi, Zadie Xa, and art duo Cooking Sections. It will run for a limited time, during the biennale’s preview week in May and closing weekend in November.

Coinciding with the opening of the biennale on May 9 will be the inauguration of the Giudecca Art District. The new art space will host independent projects, exhibitions and cultural events under the umbrella of the 2019 curatorial program, “Take Care of Your Garden – Cultivating a New Humanism.” It will feature works by established artists including Yoko Ono and Kendell Geers alongside young contemporary artists

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The Venice Biennale will open to the public on May 11 to November 24.