LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA
Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte /59th International Art
Biennale Arte 2022
The Milk of Dreams
Venice, 23.04 – 27.11. 2022
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2022
Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte
59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia
THE MILK OF DREAMS
Pre-opening: 20., 21., 22. April 2022
Awards ceremony and inauguration: Saturday, 23 April 2022
Roberto Cicutto, President of La Biennale di Venezia
Cecilia Alemani, Curator of the 59th International Art Exhibition.
Open to the public:Saturday, 23. April -Sunday, 27. November 2022
Exhibition: 23. April – 27. November 2022
Central Pavilion (Giardini) / Arsenale
https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/biennale-arte-2022-milk-dreams
#BiennaleArte2022 #IlLatteDeiSogni #TheMilkOfDreams
“The Milk of Dreams takes its title from a book by Leonora Carrington (1917–2011)
Cecilia Alemani stated – in which the Surrealist artist describes a magical world where life is constantly re-envisioned through the prism of the imagination. It is a world where everyone can change, be transformed, become something or someone else. The exhibition The Milk of Dreams takes Leonora Carrington’s otherworldly creatures, along with other figures of transformation, as companions on an imaginary journey through the metamorphoses of bodies and definitions of the human.
This exhibition is grounded in many conversations with artists held in the last few years. The questions that kept emerging from these dialogues seem to capture this moment in history when the very survival of the species is threatened, but also to sum up many other inquiries that pervade the sciences, arts, and myths of our time. How is the definition of the human changing? What constitutes life, and what differentiates plant and animal, human and non-human? What are our responsibilities towards the planet, other people, and other life forms? And what would life look like without us?
Director of the Visual Arts Department
These are some of the guiding questions for this edition of the Biennale Arte, which focuses on three thematic areas in particular: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; the connection between bodies and the Earth.”
“The Milk of Dreams was conceived and organised in a period of enormous instability and uncertainty, since its development coincided with the outbreak and spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. La Biennale di Venezia was forced to postpone this edition by one year, an event that had only occurred during the two World Wars since 1895. So the very fact that this exhibition can open is somewhat extraordinary: its inauguration is not exactly the symbol of a return to normal life, but rather the outcome of a collective effort that seems almost miraculous. During these endless months in front of the screen, I have pondered the question of what role the International Art Exhibition should play at this historical juncture, and the simplest, most sincere answer I could find is that the Biennale sums up all the things we have so sorely missed in the last two years: the freedom to meet people from all over the world, the possibility of travel, the joy of spending time together, the practice of difference, translation, incomprehension, and communion.
The Milk of Dreams is not an exhibition about the pandemic, but it inevitably registers the upheavals of our era. In times like this, as the history of La Biennale di Venezia clearly shows, art and artists can help us imagine new modes of coexistence and infinite new possibilities of transformation.”
President of La Biennale di Venezia
“Cecilia Alemani’s Exhibition imagines new harmonies, hitherto unthinkable cohabitations and surprising solutions – said President Roberto Cicutto – precisely because they distance themselves from anthropocentrism. A journey at the end of which there are no losers, but where new alliances are brought forth, generated by a dialogue between different beings (some perhaps even produced by machines) with all the natural elements that our planet (and perhaps others as well) presents to us. The travelling companions (the artists) who accompany the Curator all come from very different worlds. Cecilia tells us that there is a majority of female artists and non-binary subjects, a choice I endorse because it reflects the richness of the creative force of our time.”
“Many works are new productions created specifically for this edition. This is an important sign and proof of the great attention bestowed on the new generations of artists. It is no coincidence that the Curator has agreed to create the first College Arte in the Biennale’s history, which now flanks those dedicated to Cinema, Dance, Theatre, and Music. The past few years of the Colleges under the direct responsibility of their Artistic Directors, aided by tutors, have been very positive.”
“It seemed difficult to achieve this also for the Biennale Arte. But three female artists and one male artist, chosen from among the many candidates from all over the world, see their works exhibited out of competition in the International Exhibition, with equal pride of place as their already established colleagues who have been selected by the Curator.
This is an important step for La Biennale di Venezia which, through the activities of its ASAC and the establishment of an International Centre for Research on the Contemporary Arts, is becoming an increasingly important instrument of growth for female and male artists, further enhancing its historical role of producing exhibitions and festivals.”
“My wish for the 59th International Art Exhibition is that we can all immerse ourselves in the “re-enchantment of the world” that Cecilia evokes in her introduction. Perhaps this is a dream, which is another of the constituent elements of this Exhibition.”
Main Sponsor of the 59th Exhibition is illycaffè.
Sponsor: Bloomberg Philantropies, Vela-Venezia Unica.
Our thanks go to Maharam and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
We would like to thank all Participating Countries and new National Participations.
We thank Ministero della Cultura, the local institutions that support La Biennale in various ways, the City of Venice, the Veneto Region, the Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per il Comune di Venezia e Laguna, and the Italian Navy.
Our thanks also go to the event’s Partner Swatch, to the Main Sponsor illycaffè, and to the Sponsors Bloomberg Philantropies and Vela-Venezia Unica.
We thank the important international Donors, organisations and institutions who have contributed to the success of the Biennale Arte 2022.
Our warmest thanks go to Cecilia Alemani and her entire team.
Finally, we would also like thank everyone at La Biennale for the great professionalism and dedication they have demonstrated in the realisation and administration of the Exhibition.
https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022/artists
#BiennaleArte2022 #IlLatteDeiSogni #TheMilkOfDreams
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