The President of la Biennale di Venezia, Paolo Baratta, accompanied by the curator of the 56th International Art Exhibition, Okwui Enwezor, met on October 22nd at Ca’ Giustinian with the representatives of the 53 countries participating in the 56th Exhibition, and announced that the Biennale will take place from May 9th to November 22nd, 2015, at the Giardini and at the Arsenale (preview on May 6th, 7th, and 8th), and in various other venues in Venice.

"The ruptures that surround and abound around every corner of the global landscape today recall the evanescent debris of previous catastrophes piled at the feet of the angel of history in Angelus Novus," explained Enwezor, who chose the exhibition’s title. "How can the current disquiet of our time be properly grasped, made comprehensible, examined, and articulated? Over the course of the last two centuries the radical changes have made new and fascinating ideas subject matter for artists, writers, filmmakers, performers, composers, musicians," he added. "It is with this recognition that the 56th International Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia proposes All the World’s Futures as a project devoted to a fresh appraisal of the relationship of art and artists to the current state of things."

In fact, Okwui Enwezor aims to focus on the exhibition as a stage where historical and counter-historical projects will be explored. Within this framework, the main aspects of the 56th Exhibition is to solicit invited artists, filmmakers, choreographers, performers, composers, and writers, to work either individually or in collaboration. The sections that define All the World’s Futures are Liveness: On epic duration, a program of events that can be experienced at the intersection of liveness and display; Garden of Disorder, a project that links past and present through the metaphor of the garden; and Capital: A Live Reading, a program of live-readings around Karl Marx’s Capital: Critique of Political Economy.

In addition, the introduction of the Biennale College will show the exhibition's commitment to open up to a new generation of artists, as well as to different forms of art, such as dance, theatre and performance.

Finally, the numbers of the Biennale reveal a very promising program: 136 artists have been summoned, of which 88 for the first time. They come from 53 countries, and many of them from geographical areas that Enwezor "paradoxically insist on defining as peripheral". Of works on display, 159 are expressly realized for this year edition. According to the curator, "all of this will help to uncover the last tendencies regarding the geography and routes taken by contemporary art, thanks to a special project focusing on the Curricula of the artists operating around the world".

For more information, please consult the Biennale's website.

la Biennale di Venezia
56th International Art Exhibition
‘All the World’s Futures’ curated by Okwui Enwezor

Venice (Arsenale and Giardini), May 9th to November 22nd, 2015
(preview: May 6th, 7th and 8th, 2015)


Okwui Enwezor, Curator of the 56th International Art Exhibition
Paolo Baratta, President of la Biennale di Venezia
Photo by Giorgio Zucchiatti / Courtesy of la Biennale di Venezia