53th venice art biennale: making worlds and national participations

it is time once again for the venice art biennale 2009- the world's oldest and most prestigious
contemporary art festival. the national participations of the 53rd international art exhibition,
presented in the historical pavilions in the giardini, in selected areas of the arsenale and in
numerous venues throughout the city, are this year amounting to 77 nations participating,
including first-time participations of montenegro, principality of monaco, republic of gabon,
union of comoros, and united arab emirates.
designboom will publish an exhaustive photo report next week. stay tuned!

53rd international art exhibition - venice biennale
director: daniel birnbaum, frankfurt/main
open to the public: from 7 june to 22 november 2009



fare mondi / making worlds / bantin duniyan / 制造世界 / weltenmachen / construire des mondes/
fazer mundos...
the director of the 53rd exhibition, daniel birnbaum, has been rector of the staedelschule frankfurt/main
and its kunsthalle portikus since 2001. fare mondi / making worlds, presented in the renewed palazzo delle
esposizioni in the giardini and in the arsenale, is a single, large exhibition that articulates different themes
woven into one whole. it is not divided into sections. considering collectives, it comprises works by
over 90 artists from all over the world and includes many new works and on-site commissions in all
disciplines. see the participating artists here


john baldessari and yoko ono

the awards and opening ceremony of the 53rd international art exhibition will take place on
saturday june, the 6th in the giardini. following director’s suggestion, the president and the
board of the foundation are this year awarding two golden lions for lifetime achievement,
one to yoko ono and one to john baldessari.

furthermore there is a record number of 44 collateral events, proposed by international
organizations and institutions, which will organize their own exhibitions and initiatives
in venice during the occasion. see a list of collateral events here