The Venice Biennale is an international
art biennial exhibition held in
Venice, Italy. Often described as "the Olympics of the
art world", the Biennale is a prestigious event for contemporary artists known for propelling career visibility. The festival has become a constellation of shows: a central exhibition curated by that year's artistic director,
national pavilions hosted by individual nations, and independent exhibitions throughout Venice. The Biennale parent organization also hosts regular festivals in other arts: architecture, dance, film, music, and theater.[1]
Outside of the central, international exhibition, individual nations produce their own shows, known as pavilions, as their national representation. Nations that own their pavilion buildings, such as the 30 housed on the
Giardini, are responsible for their own upkeep and construction costs as well. Nations without dedicated buildings create pavilions in venues throughout the city.[1]
Organization and building
Architect Daniele Donghi designed the pavilion in a
neoclassical style. It was built in 1909 and originally displayed
Munich Secession works. The building was torn down and rebuilt by Ernst Haiger's design in 1938.[2]
The commissioner for the German contribution to Biennial is the
Federal Foreign Office. On the recommendation of an advisory committee of museum directors and art experts, the ministry appoints a curator (formerly called a commissioner) responsible for the selection of the artists and the organisation of the contribution. This appointment is usually for two years in succession. The Sparkassen-Kulturfonds (culture fund) of the
Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband is the pavilion's main sponsor. The
Goethe-Institut and, since 2013, the ifa Friends of the German Pavilion are also funders.[3]
From 1982 until 1990 the
German Democratic Republic organized its own exhibitions in the former Pavilion of Decorative Art. Germany's pavilion was redesigned by
Ernst Haiger and inaugurated in 1938 by the ruling
Nazi government, a fact that has inspired artistic responses from some presenters.[4]
At the 1993 Biennale, Germany's exhibition "Germania" by Hans Haacke involved destroying the Nazi era marble floor of the German pavillion.[5]
Volpi, Cristiana (2013). "Germany". In Re Rebaudengo, Adele (ed.). Pavilions and Garden of Venice Biennale. Rome: Contrasto. p. 182.
ISBN978-88-6965-440-4.
Further reading
Becker, Christoph (2009). "The Venice Biennale and Germany's Contributions from 1895 to 1942". In Moore, Elke aus dem; Zeller, Ursula; Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (eds.). Germany's contributions to the Venice Biennale 1895–2007. Translated by Bohan, Ann Marie; Laurie, Eileen; Nichols, Catherine. Cologne: DuMont. pp. 63–88.
ISBN978-3-8321-9249-5.
OCLC406143089.
Moore, Elke aus dem; Zeller, Ursula; Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, eds. (2009). Germany's contributions to the Venice Biennale 1895–2007. Translated by Bohan, Ann Marie; Laurie, Eileen; Nichols, Catherine. Cologne: DuMont.
ISBN978-3-8321-9249-5.
OCLC406143089.