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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Australian Pavilion
The Australian pavilion is a structure that houses Australia's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts and architecture festivals. Although Australia has been represented at the arts festival since 1954, the first pavilion was only built in 1987, and replaced by a permanent structure in 2015.

Background

Further information: National pavilions at the Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale is an international art biennial exhibition held in Venice, Italy. Often described as "the Olympics of the art world", participation in the Biennale is a prestigious event for contemporary artists. The festival has become a constellation of shows: a central exhibition curated by that year's artistic director, national pavilions hosted by individual nations, and independent exhibitions throughout Venice. The Biennale parent organization also hosts regular festivals in other arts: architecture, dance, film, music, and theater.

Outside of the central, international exhibition, individual nations produce their own shows, known as pavilions, as their national representation. Nations that own their pavilion buildings, such as the 30 housed on the Giardini, are responsible for their own upkeep and construction costs as well. Nations without dedicated buildings create pavilions in venues throughout the city. Formal participation by Australia in the Venice Biennale began in 1954. From 1978, the Australian Council for the Arts (now Creative Australia), managed and supported the national representation in the festival. In 2019 the Australia Council took over the commissioning of the works, which it does by open call for proposals.

As of 2024 there are 29 national pavilions built over a long period of time within the Giardini della Biennale (Biennale Gardens).

Buildings

Original pavilion (1987)

The Australian pavilion was designed in 1987 by the Australia Council's Design Arts Board and constructed by 1988. The two-level single exhibition space includes a veranda-style entrance with a courtyard constructed around a pre-existing tree. This connection between internal space and landscape was designed to relate to architectural themes in Australia. The curvature of the pavilion's sheet metal roof is meant to invoke a wave.

The original Australian Pavilion, designed by Philip Cox to be a temporary structure of fiber cement and steel, was opened in 1988 at the western edge of the Giardini. Italian-born Australian industrialist Franco Belgiorno-Nettis had previously lobbied so successfully that in 1988 Australia beat 16 other countries to the last site on which to build a permanent pavilion in the Giardini. Cox and other generous donors gifted the pavilion to the Commonwealth Government. The pavilion was not heritage-protected because of its temporary status.

New pavilion (2015)

A new, permanent pavilion was designed by architectural practice Denton Corker Marshall and completed in 2015. Built from concrete and steel, the two-storey structure contains 240 m (2,600 sq ft) of exhibition space, and the exterior is covered in black granite from Zimbabwe.

Although Australia's participation at the Venice Biennale was being managed by the Australia Council, funded by the Commonwealth Government, all of the A$6 million originally needed for the new building had to be raised from the private sector. Eventually, the pavilion cost $7.5 million to build, $1 million of which was funded by the Australia Council; the rest was donated by 82 private Australian donors, including actress Cate Blanchett and producer Santo Cilauro.

The pavilion has won several architectural awards:

  • 2012: First Prize – Design Competition
  • 2016: AIA National Jorn Utzon Award for the Most Outstanding Work of International Architecture
  • 2016: AIA International Architecture Awards – Award for Most Outstanding Work of Public Architecture Abroad

Representation by year

Until 2019, the Art Biennale used to take place in odd years and the Architecture Biennale in even years, but after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement, the Art Biennale now takes place in even years (2022, 2024) and the Architecture Biennale in odd years (2021, 2023).

In the arts festival

Before the pavilion was built

In the first Australian Pavilion

In the new Australian pavilion

In the architecture festival

Creative directors for each year's representation in the national pavilion at the architecture festival are as follows:

  • 2006 — Shane Murray and Nigel Bertram
  • 2008 — Neil Durbach, Vince Frost, Wendy Lewin, Kerstin Thompson, and Gary Warner
  • 2010 — John Gollings and Ivan Rijavec
  • 2012 — Anthony Burke, Gerard Reinmuth, with TOKO concept design
  • 2014 — felix._Giles_ Anderson+Goad
  • 2016 — Amelia Holliday, Isabelle Toland (Aileen Sage), and Michelle Tabet
  • 2018 — Mauro Baracco, Louise Wright with Linda Tegg
  • 2020/21 — Jefa Greenaway and Tristan Wong
  • 2023 — Anthony Coupe, Julian Worrall, Emily Paech, Ali Gumillya Baker, and Sarah Rhodes

References

  1. ^ Russeth 2019.
  2. ^ "Australia at the Venice Biennale". Creative Australia. March 12, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  3. ^ Volpi 2013.
  4. ^ Barbara Graustark (May 7, 2015), Australia's Black Box At The Biennale New York Times.
  5. ^ Martino, Enzo Di. The History of the Venice Biennale. Venezia: Papiro Arte, 2007.
  6. ^ Jeremy Eccles (December 13, 2013), Banker Simon Mordant on the new Australian pavilion in Venice Financial Times.
  7. ^ The Australian Pavilion Archived 2012-04-08 at the Wayback Machine Australia Council for the Arts.
  8. ^ Janelle Carrigan (May 6, 2015), Australian Politics at the Venice Biennale New York Times.
  9. ^ Louisa Buck (June 27, 2012), Australia's new Venice pavilion to be built with private money Archived 2013-05-01 at the Wayback Machine The Art Newspaper.
  10. ^ "Australian Pavilion Venice". Denton Corker Marshall. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  11. ^ Nadja Sayej (May 6, 2015), Venice Biennale: Cate Blanchett and George Brandis open $7.5m Australian pavilion The Guardian.
  12. ^ "Dark Star: Australia Reinvents the Black Box for the Venice Biennale". Town & Country. May 2015. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  13. ^ Katya Wachtel (May 6, 2015), The New Australia Pavilion Opens at the 56th Venice Biennale Broadsheet Melbourne.
  14. ^ Roderick Conway Morris (June 14, 2015), Pushing boundaries at Venice Biennale New York Times.
  15. ^ Dylan Rainforth (December 15, 2015), Indigenous artist Tracey Moffatt to represent Australia at 2017 Venice Biennale The Sydney Morning Herald.
  16. ^ Searle, Adrian (May 10, 2017). "Tracey Moffatt review – horrible histories from Australia's Venice envoy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  17. ^ Russeth, Andrew (March 9, 2018). "Australia Picks Angelica Mesiti for 2019 Venice Biennale Pavilion". ARTnews. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  18. ^ Story, Hannah (May 16, 2022). "Venice Biennale 2022: Marco Fusinato takes over Australia Pavilion with 200 days of guitar performance and spectacle". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  19. ^ Alex Greenberger (November 1, 2019), Australia Picks Sound Artist Marco Fusinato for 2021 Venice Biennale Pavilion ARTnews.
  20. ^ Alex Greenberger (8 February 2023), Archie Moore Becomes the Second-Ever First Nations Artist to Represent Australia Solo at the Venice Biennale ARTnews.
  21. ^ Allam, Lorena (April 17, 2024). "'Very totemic and very Aboriginal': Australia's entry at Venice Biennale is a family tree going back 65,000 years". The Guardian. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  22. ^ Stone, Tim (February 7, 2023). "First Nations artist Archie Moore to represent Australia at 2024 Venice Biennale". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.
  23. ^ Harris, Gareth (April 20, 2024). "Archie Moore's Australian Pavilion wins Venice Biennale's coveted Golden Lion for best national exhibition". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on April 20, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  24. ^ Justine Clarke (September 1, 2006), Micro Macro City – Excerpts from the Australian Pavilion Architecture Australia 95 (4).
  25. ^ Naomi Stead, Danila Campo and Stephanie Smith (November 1, 2008), Biennale - In Venice Architecture Australia 97 (6).
  26. ^ Colin Martin (March, 2011), Two views on the 2011 Venice Architecture Biennale Artichoke (34).
  27. ^ Martti Kalliala (November, 2012), Advance Australia Architecture Australia 101 (6).
  28. ^ Annabelle Pegrum (November, 2013), 2014 Venice Biennale preview Architecture Australia 102 (6).
  29. ^ Fiona Nixon (November, 2016), Damp power: Reflections on The Pool Architecture Australia 105 (6).
  30. ^ Dermot Foley (August, 2018), Environment, habitat and cultural history: Repair Landscape Architecture Australia (159).
  31. ^ Louis Anderson Mokak (September, 2021), What’s missing ‘in between’? Architecture Australia 110 (5).
  32. ^ Bates, Donald (June 1, 2023). "Surveying Unsettling Queenstown". ArchitectureAu. Architecture Media.

Further reading

45°25′42″N 12°21′32″E / 45.4284°N 12.3590°E / 45.4284; 12.3590

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