Canadian pavilion

The Canadian pavilion houses Canada's national representation during the Venice Biennale arts festivals. Background The Venice Biennale is an international art biennial exhibition held in Venice, Italy. Often described as "the Olympics of the art world", participation in the Biennale is a prestigious event for contemporary artists. The festival has become a constellation of shows: a central exhibition curated by that year's artistic director, national pavilions hosted by individual nations, and independent exhibitions held throughout Venice. The Biennale's parent organisation also runs regular festivals in other arts: architecture, dance, film, music and theatre. Outside the central international exhibition, individual nations produce their own shows, known as pavilions, as their national representation. Nations that own their pavilion buildings – such as the 30 housed in the Giardini – are responsible for their own upkeep and construction costs as well. Nations without dedicated buildings create pavilions in venues throughout the city. Organization and building The Canadian pavilion was designed by the Italian architects BBPR and erected between 1956 and 1957. Its architecture is more modern and thereby distinct than the nearby pavilions. Inside, its rooms unfold in a spiral of open and closed spaces. The nation has been participating in the international exhibition since 1952. The National Gallery of Canada took over the Venice selection process from the Canada Council for the Arts in 2010. Representation by year Since 1952 Canada has been represented at every Venice Biennale. 1952 — Emily Carr, David Milne, Goodridge Roberts, Alfred Pellan 1954 — B C Binning, Paul-Émile Borduas, Jean-Paul Riopelle 1956 — Jack Shadbolt, Louis Archambault, Harold Town 1958 — James Wilson Morrice, Jacques de Tonnancour, Anne Kahane, Jack Nichols 1960 — Edmund Alleyn, Graham Coughtry, Jean Paul Lemieux, Frances Loring, Albert Dumouchel 1962 — Jean-Paul Riopelle 1964 — Harold Town, Elza Mayhew 1966 — Alex Colville, Yves Gaucher, Sorel Etrog 1968 — Ulysse Comtois, Guido Molinari 1970 — Michael Snow 1972 — Gershon Iskowitz, Walter Redinger 1976 — Greg Curnoe 1978 — Ron Martin, Henry Saxe 1980 — Collin Campbell, Pierre Falardeau & Julien Poulin, General Idea, Tom Sherman, Lisa Steele 1982 — Paterson Ewen 1984 — Ian Carr-Harris, Liz Magor 1986 — Melvin Charney, Krzysztof Wodiczko 1988 — Roland Brener, Michel Goulet 1990 — Geneviève Cadieux 1993 — Robin Collyer 1995 — Edward Poitras (curator: Gerald McMaster) 1997 — Rodney Graham (curator: Loretta Yarlow) 1999 — Tom Dean 2001 — Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller (Curator: Scott Watson) 2003 — Jana Sterbak 2005 — Rebecca Belmore (curators: Jann LM Bailey and Scott Watson) 2007 — David Altmejd (curator: Louise Déry) 2009 — Mark Lewis (curator: Barbara Fischer) 2011 — Steven Shearer (curator: Josée Drouin-Brisebois) 2013 — Shary Boyle (curator: Josée Drouin-Brisebois) 2015 — BGL (curator: Marie Fraser) 2017 — Geoffrey Farmer (curator: Kitty Scott) 2019 — Isuma (curators: Asinnajaq, executive director and chief curator of the Art Gallery of Alberta Catherine Crowston, senior curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Canada Josée Drouin-Brisebois, executive director and chief curator Art Museum at the University of Toronto Barbara Fischer and independent curator and writer Candice Hopkins. 2022 — Stan Douglas (curator: Reid Shier) 2024 — Kapwani Kiwanga (curator: Gaëtane Verna) 2026 — Abbas Akhavan (curator: Kim Nguyen) References Bibliography Further reading External links Official website