A key project for La Biennale 2020
A few days ago, at the press conference for the Dance, Music and Theatre festivals, I expressed my pleasure at being able to announce programming that would be presented to the public in the spaces of La Biennale.
Even when we were still hoping to open the Architecture Exhibition at the end of August, we decided to create a show – the first in Biennale history, for the 125th anniversary of its foundation – based on audiovisual materials, photographs, installations and documents: marking our return to activity, it forges a dialogue between the six arts of La Biennale in the form of a resource center set up under the auspices of the Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts – ASAC, headed by Debora Rossi. The exhibition will also draw on the records of other Italian and international archives.
This insightful project, which has become a key part of this year’s activities, will be presented in the Central Pavilion in the Giardini della Biennale.
The exhibition The Disquieted Muses. When La Biennale di Venezia Meets History, which will open on August 29, has been curated by all six Artistic Directors of La Biennale under the guidance of Cecilia Alemani, who has brought to bear her considerable experience as a researcher and international curator in the field of contemporary art.
Each of them has traced the historical arc they thought would best illustrate the key points of La Biennale throughout its history. I would like to thank all of them, and their staff, for working on this despite the current difficulties and all their other duties related to the series of Exhibitions and Festivals that will begin on September 2.
I am particularly grateful for the generous support that the directors and staff of the Historical Archives and the entire Biennale have given to this project. It is one that bolsters La Biennale’s role as a hub of research in the contemporary arts, a fundamental driving force for investigating the present and future, and a strategic tool for development, even in terms of economic growth.