Canadian Pavilion
The Canadian pavilion houses Canada's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts festivals.
Background
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.
Organization and building
The Canadian pavilion was designed by the Italian architects BBPR and erected between 1956 and 1957. Its architecture is more distinct than the nearby pavilions. Inside, its rooms unfold in a spiral of open and closed spaces.
The nation has been participating in the international exhibition since 1952. The National Gallery of Canada took over the Venice selection process from the Canada Council in 2010.
Representation by year
Since 1952 Canada has been represented at every Venice Biennale.
- 1952 — Emily Carr, David Milne, Goodridge Roberts, Alfred Pellan
- 1954 — B C Binning, Paul-Émile Borduas, Jean-Paul Riopelle
- 1956 — Jack Shadbolt, Louis Archambault, Harold Town
- 1958 — James Wilson Morrice, Jacques de Tonnancour, Anne Kahane, Jack Nichols
- 1960 — Edmund Alleyn, Graham Coughtry, Jean Paul Lemieux, Frances Loring, Albert Dumouchel
- 1962 — Jean-Paul Riopelle
- 1964 — Harold Town, Elza Mayhew
- 1966 — Alex Colville, Yves Gaucher, Sorel Etrog
- 1968 — Ulysse Comtois, Guido Molinari
- 1970 — Michael Snow
- 1972 — Gershon Iskowitz, Walter Redinger
- 1976 — Greg Curnoe
- 1978 — Ron Martin, Henry Saxe
- 1980 — Collin Campbell, Pierre Falardeau & Julien Poulin, General Idea, Tom Sherman, Lisa Steele
- 1982 — Paterson Ewen
- 1984 — Ian Carr-Harris, Liz Magor
- 1986 — Melvin Charney, Krzysztof Wodiczko
- 1988 — Roland Brener, Michel Goulet
- 1990 — Geneviève Cadieux
- 1993 — Robin Collyer
- 1995 — Edward Poitras (curator: Gerald McMaster)
- 1997 — Rodney Graham (curator: Loretta Yarlow)
- 1999 — Tom Dean
- 2001 — Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller (Curator: Scott Watson)
- 2003 — Jana Sterbak
- 2005 — Rebecca Belmore (curators: Jann LM Bailey and Scott Watson)
- 2007 — David Altmejd (curator: Louise Déry)
- 2009 — Mark Lewis (curator: Barbara Fischer)
- 2011 — Steven Shearer (curator: Josée Drouin-Brisebois)
- 2013 — Shary Boyle (curator: Josée Drouin-Brisebois)
- 2015 — BGL (curator: Marie Fraser)
- 2017 — Geoffrey Farmer (curator: Kitty Scott)
- 2019 — Isuma (curators: Asinnajaq, executive director and chief curator of the Art Gallery of Alberta Catherine Crowston, senior curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Canada Josée Drouin-Brisebois, executive director and chief curator Art Museum at the University of Toronto Barbara Fischer and independent curator and writer Candice Hopkins.
- 2021 — Stan Douglas (curator: Reid Shier)
- 2024 — Kapwani Kiwanga (curator: Gaëtane Verna)
References
- ^ Russeth 2019.
- ^ Volpi 2013.
- ^ "ARTINFO's Comprehensive Guide to the 2011 Venice Biennale National Pavilions". ARTINFO. Louise Blouin Media. May 30, 2011. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Farrell, Genevieve (2018), Canada in Venice (PDF), Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba, archived (PDF) from the original on August 1, 2019, retrieved March 4, 2021
- ^ Michael Kimmelman (May 28, 1990), Venice Biennale Opens With Surprises Archived April 3, 2018, at the Wayback Machine New York Times.
- ^ "Inuit art foundation".
- ^ Peggy Gale (June 25, 1997), Rodney Graham Prepares for the 1997 Venice Biennale Archived May 12, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Canadian Art.
- ^ "Canadian Art magazine".
- ^ "Belkin Website".
- ^ "UQAM website".
- ^ "eflux".
- ^ "newswire".
- ^ [1] Archived June 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "newswire".
- ^ "NGC website".
- ^ Marsha Lederman (December 11, 2015), Vancouver-based installation artist Geoffrey Farmer to represent Canada at Venice Biennale Archived June 1, 2017, at the Wayback Machine The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Canadian Art Magazine".
- ^ "inuit art foundation website".
- ^ Alex Greenberger (January 15, 2020), Stan Douglas, Leading Video Artist with an Eye Toward the Marginalized, Will Represent Canada at 2021 Venice Biennale Archived January 15, 2020, at the Wayback Machine ARTnews.
- ^ "NGC Website".
- ^ Maximilíano Durón (26 January 2023), Rising Star Kapwani Kiwanga to Represent Canada at 2024 Venice Biennale ARTnews.
Bibliography
- Russeth, Andrew (April 17, 2019). "The Venice Biennale: Everything You Could Ever Want to Know". ARTnews. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
- Volpi, Cristiana (2013). "Canada". In Re Rebaudengo, Adele (ed.). Pavilions and Garden of Venice Biennale. Rome: Contrasto. p. 189. ISBN 978-88-6965-440-4.
Further reading
- "A look back at 50 years of Canadian artists at the Venice Biennale". CBC. April 21, 2022. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
- Belisle, Jean-Francoise (2007). Canadian voices at the Venice Biennale: The production of a Canadian image through the Venice Biennale between 1988 and 2005 (M.A.). Canada: Concordia University (Canada). ProQuest 304782548.
- Buchanan, Donald William, 1908-1966 (January 3, 1952). "Biennale of Venice welcomes Canada". Canadian Art. 9 (4): 144–147. ISSN 0825-3854 – via EBSCOhost.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Buchanan, D. W. (January 1958). "Canada builds a pavilion at Venice; with French summary". Canadian Art. 15: 29–75. ISSN 0825-3854 – via EBSCOhost.
- Cameron, Dorothy (December 1970). "Summer '70: the crisis of Canada international; Venice". Artscanada. 27: 41 – via EBSCOhost.
- Diggon, Elizabeth (2012). The politics of cultural power: Canadian participation at the venice and São Paulo biennials, 1951-1958 (M.A.). Canada: Queen's University (Canada). ProQuest 1511439409.
- Legault, Rejean, ed. (2020). The Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Ottawa: 5 Continents Editions. ISBN 978-88-7439-884-3.
- "Reactions to Canada's art at Venice". Canadian Art. 15: 300. November 1958. ISSN 0825-3854 – via EBSCOhost.
- Reesor, Carol Jane Harrison (1995). The chronicles of the National Gallery of Canada of the Venice Biennale (M.A.). Canada: Concordia University (Canada). ProQuest 304249857.
- Rose, Jessica (May 29, 2018). "Canada Pavilion reveals restoration during 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale". Wallpaper*. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
