The Biennial Organization announced on Monday, May 18, 2020, that the Architecture Biennial will be postponed from this year to 2021, which means that the Art Biennial will also take place one year later. The ifa – Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, which coordinates the German contribution as commissioner, also sees opportunities in the postponement of the 59th Venice Art Biennale by the Biennale organization until 2022.
Image above: Yilmaz Dziewior, Curator of the official German contribution for the 59th Biennale di Venezia 2022, © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln/Britta Schlier
The curator of the German Pavilion at the 59th Art Biennale, Dr Yilmaz Dziewior, Director of the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, is reacting confidently to news of the Biennale di Venezia:
„The postponement of the Art Biennale is a comprehensible and sensible decision. An opening of the Architecture Biennale this year would have been an incredible challenge for all participants – especially since the current situation makes trips abroad hardly possible at present. And I, too, as curator of the German Pavilion, see the postponement as a great opportunity to reflect the current social upheavals even more precisely in artistic terms with more advance notice. As soon as the situation returns to normal, my first trip will be to Venice. I’m really looking forward to that.“
Ronald Grätz, Secretary General of the ifa, is also optimistic about the postponement of the 59th Art Biennale in Venice:
„Special situations require special decisions. In this respect, the postponement in times of the Corona crisis is logical, since the Biennial is based on international exchange like hardly any other art event that cannot take place at the moment. In addition, the appointment of the curator for the German Pavilion came relatively late this time, so the corona crisis naturally has an impact on the logistics of the preparations. The time gained by the postponement now opens up additional opportunities for a multi-faceted country contribution from Germany.“
The 59th Biennale Arte of the Biennale di Venezia will take place from Saturday, April 23 to Sunday, November 27, 2022.
About the German Pavilion
The Venice Biennale is one of the most important exhibitions of contemporary art. For years, the German Pavilion has been one of the highlights on the Giardini grounds of the Art Biennale. In 2019 it was visited by around 361,000 art lovers.
Since 1971 the ifa (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) has been coordinating and realizing Germany’s contribution to the Venice Biennale on behalf of the German Foreign Office. Internationally renowned artists such as Gerhard Richter, Joseph Beuys, Jochen Gerz, Ulrich Rückriem, Hanne Darboven, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Hans Haacke, Nam June Paik, Katharina Fritsch, Gerhard Merz, Rosemarie Trockel, Martin Kippenberger, Candida Höfer, Tino Sehgal, Isa Genzken and Ai Weiwei have used the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The German contribution has already won six Golden Lions: 1984 Lothar Baumgarten and A. R. Penck (Commissioner: Johannes Cladders), 1986 Sigmar Polke (Commissioner: Dierk Stemmler), 1993 Hans Haacke and Nam June Paik (Commissioner: Klaus Bußmann), 2001 Gregor Schneider (Commissioner: Udo Kittelmann), 2011 Christoph Schlingensief (Curator: Susanne Gaensheimer) and 2017 Anne Imhof (Curator: Susanne Pfeffer). In 2019 Natascha Süder Happelmann designed the German contribution, which was curated by Franciska Zólyom.
About the ifa
The ifa (Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations) is Germany’s oldest intermediary organization. It is committed worldwide to the peaceful and enriching coexistence of people and cultures. The ifa promotes artistic and cultural exchange in exhibition, dialogue and conference programmes and acts as a centre of competence for foreign cultural and educational policy. It is globally networked and focuses on long-term cooperation based on partnership.
In the field of contemporary art, ifa promotes exhibitions by artists living in Germany, is involved in international networks and scientific discussions on art and cultural exchange. In the course of its support for exhibitions, ifa enables German artists and artists living in Germany to participate in biennials worldwide and artists from developing and transition countries to participate in biennials in Germany.
The ifa is supported by the German Foreign Office, the State of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Stuttgart.
ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen in Berlin
Linienstraße 139/140
10115 Berlin-Mitte
Tuesday – Sunday 2:00 – 6:00 pm
Closed on mondays and public holidays
