La Biennale di Venezia or also known as the Venice Biennale has opened on April 23 and will be on view through November 27, 2022, at the Giardini and the Arsenale. Cecilia Alemani is the curator of this exhibition, while Roberto Cicutto as the chair of La Biennale di Venezia organized this event.
This year, The 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia is entitled The Milk of Dreams. As Cecilia Alemani said, this title was inspired by Leonora Carrington’s book in which “the Surrealist artist describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination.” In the Milk of Dreams world, everybody is dynamic, always changing, and can be transformed to be something or someone. This exhibition is a kind of an imaginary journey of transformation and metamorphoses of bodies and definitions of humans.
This exhibition was based on some philosophical questions that emerge during the conversations with artists, such as how is the definition of the human changing? What does constitute life? What does differentiate between plant and animal, human and non-human? What are our responsibilities towards the planet, other people, and life forms? And what would life look like without humans?
The International Art Exhibition of Venice Biennale consists of three thematic areas, i.e.the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; and the connection between bodies and the Earth.
This exhibition is conceived like time capsules. It connects the past, the present, and the future. Like a weaving web, this exhibition links artworks of the past–including major museum loans and unconventional selections–to the pieces by contemporary artists. The outcome is a historical narrative that was built, not by direct inheritance or conflict, but by “symbiosis, solidarity, and sisterhood.”
This exhibition is featuring “213 artists from 58 countries, 1433 the works and objects, and 80 new projects that are conceived specifically for the Biennale Arte.” Elisa Giardina Papa, one of the artists taking part in the International Exhibition (in competition), has been invited by Cecilia Alemani to create a special project in Forte Marghera, called Polveriera austriaca. Artist Sophia Al-Maria has also been selected to present a work in the Applied Arts Pavilion at the Sale d’Armi, Arsenale.
https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022/pavilion-applied-arts
The exhibition also includes 80 national participations, among them, 5 countries are participating for the first time at the Venice Biennale: the Republic of Cameroon, Namibia, Nepal, Sultanate of Oman, and Uganda.
“Radiance – they dream in time”
Uganda Pavilion at The Biennale Arte 2022
https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022/uganda
Considering the principles of environmental sustainability, the Venice Biennale declares that this exhibition extends the achievement of “carbon neutrality” certification which was obtained in 2021, to all of La Biennale’s scheduled activities.
The Venice Biennale has promoted the emergence of contemporary artists since 1895. This exhibition now comes back after its postponement in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The opening of Venice Biennale: The Milk of Dreams International Exhibition in 2022 is somewhat extraordinary, after the endless months in front of the screen.