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2015 Venice Biennale
Posted inArt
At the Venice Biennale, the Philippine Pavilion Favors Beauty Over Ugly Truths
VENICE — “People say I’m extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage?” infamously asked “Iron Butterfly” Imelda Marcos in the eponymous 2003 documentary Imelda.
Posted inArt
At Venice Biennale, Artists Stage a Pageant for Precarious Workers in Abu Dhabi
VENICE — When I arrived in Venice three weeks ago, I immediately headed to the tip of the Donsoduro to S.a.L.E. docks, a contemporary art space run by artist and activist Marco Baravalle. As part of its Biennale programming, the G.U.L.F. was set to have the Precarious Workers Pageant that evening.
Posted inArt
Three Days of Debating Social Justice at the Venice Biennale
VENICE — As folks streamed into the dimmed theater and escaped the Venetian heat, I felt a sense of anticipation. Creative Time, which has been showcasing its support of socially engaged art practices for decades, made its way into the Venice Biennale’s central exhibition All the World’s Futures, organized by Okwui Enwezor.
Posted inNews
Artists Launch “Letter for Palestine” Campaign at Venice Biennale
On Sunday, artists participating in and attending the 2015 Venice Biennale launched a campaign titled “Artists’ Letter for Palestine.”
Posted inNews
G.U.L.F. Occupies Israeli Pavilion in Venice, Calls for Cultural Boycott [UPDATED]
Yesterday the Gulf Labor Coalition, which is an official participant of the central exhibition of the 2015 Venice Biennale, and the G.U.L.F. (Gulf Ultra Luxury Faction) group staged a variety of protest actions at the international exhibition.
Posted inArt
Hans Haacke on “Gift Horse,” Gulf Labor, and Artist Resale Royalties
Early last March, London’s Conservative mayor Boris Johnson unveiled Hans Haacke’s “Gift Horse,” the tenth commission installed on Trafalgar Square’s Fourth Plinth.
Posted inIn Brief
Debt in Venice: German Pavilion Artists Show Support for Greece
In response to the German government’s insistence on imposing austerity measures on Greece, the artists representing Germany at this year’s Venice Biennale have made a simple but powerful statement in support of the debt-ridden nation.
Posted inArt
Personal but Highly Political Highlights from the 2015 Venice Biennale
VENICE — As I feel my way through a curtain and into a pitch-black, cavernous space, a white square shimmers in the distance.
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From Grief to Action: Patricia Cronin on Her ‘Shrine for Girls’
If you make the pilgrimage to the Venice Biennale this year, among the many artistic spectacles you will encounter is an actual shrine.
Posted inOpinion
Why I Don’t Buy the Premise of Christoph Büchel’s Icelandic Mosque Pavilion
I’ve been hesitant to embrace Christoph Büchel’s project for the Icelandic Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale from the beginning.
Posted inNews
Iceland’s Mosque Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Will Be Shut Down
Venetian officials plan to close the Icelandic Pavilion of the 2015 Venice Biennale, which features a working mosque that is part of an artwork by Swiss-Icelandic artist Christoph Büchel.