WHAT IS THE BIENNALE?

La Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale) is one of the most important cultural institutions of the city.

And one of the most prestigious in the world. It was established in 1895 and it organizes exhibitions of Art, Architecture, Cinema (the famous Venice Film Festival that takes place at Palazzo del Cinema in Lido), Music, Dance and Theatre.

THIS YEAR ART EXHIBITION

In this post we will speak about the 58th edition of the Art Exhibition that will be entitiled ‘May You Live In Interesting Times’ and will take place, as usual, at the Giardini and the Arsenale venues from 11 May to 24 November 2019 (with pre-opening events for the press and the authorities on May 8th, 9th and 10th).

The opening times will be 10 am to 6 pm (closed on Mondays except 13 May, 2 September and 18 November). The price of the ticket is around 20 euro (there are discounts for students).

This year the curator is Ralph Rugoff, currently the director of London Hayward Gallery and, in his words, “this edition will not have a theme per se, but will highlight a general approach to making art and a view of art’s social function as embracing both pleasure and critical thinking”.

THE GIARDINI VENUE

The entrance is in front of Giardini-Biennale waterbus stop (Line 6 and Line 5.1).
Independently of the Art Exhibition, this is a place worth seeing: you will walk through gardens with a pastoral athmosphere lined by paths leading to modern and eclectic designer pavilions. About 40 different countries own these permanent pavilions, some of which have been designed by famous architects such as Carlo Scarpa, Alvar Aalto and James Stirling. Inside the pavilions each country displays the artworks of their leading artists.

THE ARSENALE VENUE

The entrance is in Campiello della Tana, 2169/F.
The Art exhibition is also an opportunity to visit part of the huge construction site (almost a city within a city) where the Serenissima fleets were built. The Arsenale shipyard, founded in 1104, was the symbol of Venetian maritime might and it is considered the largest production center in the world of the pre-industrial era. In full-time periods its thousands of workers could build up a ship in a day (post by Luciana)

STAY IN AN APARTMENT THAT IS LOCATED BETWEEN THE TWO VENUES

If you want to fully experience the atmosphere of the Biennale, you can stay at one of our apartments that is located at a 2 minute walk from both venues. Click here to view: apartment Bianco 4.