Venice Biennale 60th Edition Focuses on Migration, War, Ecology

Momchil Rusev, BTA special correspondent Vanya Suharova

US pavilion at Venice Biennale 2024 (BTA Photo/Vanya Suharova)

Venice, Italy,

24.11.2024 14:48

(BTA)

Migration, war and ecology were the main focuses of the projects presented at the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale. The prestigious forum took place from April 20 to November 24 and was curated by Adriano Pedrosa.

A total of 88 countries participated in the Venice Biennale, which lasted 219 days this year. Among the debutants were Benin, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania and Morocco. Traditionally, the pavilions are located in the Venetian gardens and the Arsenale di Venezia, but due to the growing number of participants, some of the projects were located in other parts of the city.

Bulgaria participated in the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale with the project The Neighbours by Lilia Topouzova, Krasimira Butseva and Julian Chehiran, curated by Vasil Vladimirov. The installation was positioned in the Sala Tiziano, near the Bridge of the Academy in Venice. The project tells the story of Bulgarians who were victims of political violence. The installation represented reconstructed homes of repressed people. The authors' idea is for visitors not just to see the project, but to experience it. This was Bulgaria's 11th participation in the prestigious forum. The team pointed out that this is Bulgaria's best presentation so far in the biennale and has attracted over 60,000 visitors.

Writer Georgi Gospodinov's novel Time Shelter inspired the curator of the project for the German pavilion at this year's Biennale. The project is entitled Thresholds and is a clinic on the past. The installation was a look at the past and the future from different artistic angles. The team described the present as a place where no one can stay and which only exists because one thing has happened and another is still waiting.

The next edition of the Venice Biennale of Art will take place in 2026 and in 2025 there will be a Venice Biennale of Architecture at the same venue. Bulgaria has already announced its participation and on January 10, 2025 will announce the name of the team and the project that will represent it. The forum will take place from May 10 to November 23. The Bulgarian pavilion will be in the Sala Tiziano, which has been rented for three years and is currently hosting The Neighbours project, with which Bulgaria is presenting itself at the Venice Art Biennale.

/MR/