Flemish Culture Minister Jambon to visit Biennale in Venice

The 59th edition of the Venice Art Biennale opens its doors to the general public on Saturday. Besides "The milk of dreams", an exhibition with works by 213 artists from 58 countries, visual art from 80 countries can be seen in the Giardini, the Arsenale and the city centre. Flemish Minister of Culture Jan Jambon will open the Belgian pavilion on Thursday.

The Flemish community and the French community alternate in providing art for the Belgian pavilion, one of the 29 national pavilions in the Giardini. Curator Hilde Teerlinck and artist Francis Alÿs are representing our country with the project "The Nature of the Game", which focuses on the enjoyment of play by children.

In addition to opening and visiting the Belgian pavilion, Minister Jambon will also meet Tiit Terik, the Estonian Minister of Culture. This fits in with the Flemish Northern Strategy, with which Flanders is establishing diplomatic, economic and cultural contacts with the Baltic States and Scandinavia. In May, Minister Jambon will also visit Estonia himself.

Later in the day, the Arsenale is on the agenda. In the evening, there will be a visit to "This is Ukraine: Defending Freedom" by the Ukrainian PinchukArtCentre in the Scuola Grande della Misericordia. The exhibition, patronised by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, highlights work by contemporary and historical Ukrainian visual artists. The Belgian Björn Geldhof, artistic director of the PinchukArtCentre, will show the Minister around.

The central exhibition "The milk of dreams", curated by Cecilia Alemani, presents 1,433 works of art. The exhibition is based on the book of the same name by surrealist artist Leonora Carrington. In addition, 80 countries are represented by visual artists at the art biennial. For Cameroon, Namibia, Nepal, Oman and Uganda, this is happening for the first time. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan will have their own pavilion for the first time.

At the previous edition, in 2019, Queen Mathilde visited the Belgian pavilion. The biennial art biennial was postponed by a year due to the corona crisis. The edition that was planned for 2021 will therefore only take place now. The art biennial opens its doors to the public on Saturday 23 April. That is also when the awards will be presented. "The milk of dreams" and the national exhibitions can be visited until 27 November. PinchukArtCentre's exhibition will run until August 7.

(TOM)

Het Belgisch paviljoen in Venetië. - © BELGA