The 54th International Art Exhibition, titled ILLUMInations, directed by Bice Curiger and organized by la Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta, is open to the public from Saturday, June 4th to November 27th, 2011 in the Giardini and at the Arsenale.
The Exhibition, spreading over 10,000 square metres between the Central Pavilion in the Giardini and the Arsenale, comprises a single display featuring 83 artists from all over the world. There are 32 young artists born after 1975 and 32 female artists. Four participants have been asked to create the parapavilions, sculptural structures mounted in the Giardini and at the Arsenale to house works by other artists. Besides favouring new forms of cooperation, the parapavilions aim at infusing the exhibition with greater dynamism. Bice Curiger has additionally encouraged mutual exchanges between the artists of her exhibition and those hosted in the national participations by asking all of them five questions on the themes of identity and their sense of belonging: 1. is the artistic community a nation? 2. how many nations do you feel inside yourself? 3. where do you feel at home? 4. does the future speak English or another language? 5. if art was a nation what would be written in its constitution? The answers, published in the catalogue, voice the views of the artists and draw a map of our contemporary collective landscape.