Venice Biennale, ‘the Olympics of the art world’, set to open on April 20: Everything you need to know

Here is a look at the history of the Venice Biennale, its significance, and India’s participation in the exhibition.

But first, what is a biennale?

Biennale is an Italian word which means ‘every other year’. Over the years, however, it has come to mean a large international exhibition that takes place every two years.

“Biennales feature contemporary art by artists from various countries that are usually linked by a common curatorial theme, providing a framework for exploring contemporary social, economic and political ideas in an international context,” a report by the Australia Council of the Arts said.

A biennale exhibition is different from a regular exhibition as it is organised on a large scale and involves multiple venues.

How did the Venice Biennale start?

In 1893, Venice’s city government proposed to mark the silver anniversary of King Umberto I of Italy and Margherita of Savoy by establishing a “national biennial exhibition of art”. The Biennale was scheduled to open in 1894 but due to some delays, it was finally inaugurated on April 30, 1895 — both King Umberto and Queen Margherita attended the event.

According to the Biennale’s website, over two lakh visitors attended the first exhibition and special train tickets were arranged for the event.

The exhibition showcased the works of foreign and Italian painters and sculptors. Each one of them was allowed to display two of their works. Although initially the Biennale displayed only selected works of artists and there were no overarching themes or concepts, this changed in the following years.

What is the format of the Venice Biennale?

The seven-month-long Biennale comprises three parts, including the central pavilion, national pavilions, and collateral events. The central pavilion is the focal point. It features the main exhibition that showcases artworks and artists selected by the curator.

National pavilions are usually the property of individual countries and are managed by their ministries of culture, with many also involving private funding. Currently, the Biennale consists of 29 permanent national pavilions. The first foreign nation to build a pavilion was Belgium in 1907, followed by Germany, Britain and Hungary in the same decade.

Although India doesn’t have a permanent national pavilion, the country officially organised exhibitions in 1954, 2011, and 2019. There are also collateral events that are independently organised across Venice during the Biennale.

When did India first participate in the Venice Biennale?

India made its debut at the Biennale in 1954. The Embassy of India in Rome organised the country’s first official exhibition at the event. Recording robust sales, the exhibition comprised over 50 paintings of masters such as M F Husain, S H Raza, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, and Francis Newton Souza.

In the following years, several Indian artists were invited to participate in the Biennale — including Dayanita Singh at the German Pavilion in 2013, Riyas Komu in 2007, and Mrinalini Mukherjee and Prabhakar Pachpute in 2022.

Collateral events, such as the 2005 “iCon: India Contemporary”, and the 2015 “My East is Your West” that saw the coming together of artists from India and Pakistan also took place.

India’s official participation, however, at the event remained dismal. After 1954, the country officially participated in the event in 2011. The exhibition was organised by Lalit Kala Akademi and curated by Ranjit Hoskote. It featured works by artists like Zarina Hashmi, Gigi Scaria, Praneet Soi, and the Desire Machine Collective.

At the 2019 Venice Biennale, the Ministry of Culture, Confederation of Indian Industry, National Gallery of Modern Art, and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in collaboration organised the Indian pavilion.

Titled “Our Time for a Future Caring”, it celebrated 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi through the works of artists such as Nandalal Bose, M F Husain, Atul Dodiya, Jitish Kallat, Shakuntala Kulkarni, GR Iranna, Ashim Purkayastha, and Rummana Hussain.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Roobina Karode, director and chief curator of KNMA, said: “Our perspectives need to widen and our horizons need to grow… We need to look at these platforms for our artists to present their practices; their voices need to be heard and their presence needs to be there”.

KNMA will also be organising an exhibition dedicated to MF Husain in Venice in April, coinciding with the Venice Biennale. Presented at the Magazzini del Sale in Dorsoduro, this will feature an exhibition of his works alongside an immersive show titled “The Rooted Nomad” designed by Visioni Eccentriche.

Will India have a presence at the 2024 Venice Biennale?

This year, the Biennale is helmed by its first Latin American curator — the artistic director of the São Paulo Museum of Art, Adriano Pedrosa. His theme for the event is “Foreigners Everywhere”, which will delve into the experiences of those living on the margins, as outsiders, immigrants or indigenous populations.

Works by Indian artists will also feature in this central exhibition. This includes the late modernists Ram Kumar, B Prabha, SH Raza, Jamini Roy, Amrita Sher-Gil, FN Souza, and Goa-based Monika Correa. Representing the contemporary will be the public art collective Aravani Art Project, led by trans and cis women.