Tuesday, June 14, 2011

A window of opportunity in Venice


Like so many countries that missed the opportunity to build a national pavilion in the Giardini (Australia was the last country to be granted land to build on), New Zealand works with spaces selected from the array of palazzos, churches and other buildings available for Venice Biennale presentations.

The possibility of sharing a pavilion with Australia has been raised in the past and the idea surfaced again with the news that Australia's pavilion in the Giardini will be replaced with a purpose-designed space for artists. While the idea may be of interest on this side of the Tasman, ANZART in Venice appears to be an unlikely prospect. Would Australia consider sharing a pavilion with New Zealand and, if so, how would it work?

Fortunately, another window of opportunity opened up this year. The President of the Biennale, Paolo Baratta, is offering countries that don't have a national pavilion the chance to buy a space in the Arsenale's Sale d'Ami. At a reported cost of 1.5m for a 20 year concession, a pavilion in the Arsenale could be an interesting option to consider for New Zealand.
Image: Arsenale, Venice