Field Trip: Venice, Beyond the Biennale
By HG Masters
Across the Arsenale was "Love Me, Love Me Not," an exhibition of artists from the Caucasus, which the
No trip to Venice for the Biennale is limited to the Arsenale or the grounds of the Giardini. So many countries now participate in the festival that there isn’t space for all of them in the Biennale’s buildings; as a result, many national pavilions are housed in rented palazzos and warehouses spread out along the city’s waterways and far-flung islands. Seeing them all, or even a handful of them, with a map in hand to navigate labyrinthine Venice, is like a treasure hunt, complicated by crowded vaporetto rides, tricky bridge crossings and streets clogged with tour groups. In addition, private cultural spaces (run by billionaires), including the Prada Foundation, the Pinault Collection and the PinchukArtCentre, host exhibitions to capitalize on the large number of art viewers descending on Venice in the Biennale months.
