La Biennale di Venezia, to mark the 125th anniversary of its foundation, presents Le muse inquiete (The Disquieted Muses). When La Biennale di Venezia Meets History, an exhibition by the Historical Archives of Contemporary Arts – ASAC, open in the Central Pavilion of the Giardini until December 8, 2020.
This is the first exhibition curated by all the Artistic Directors of La Biennale’s six Departments. Working together, they have used the one-of-a-kind sources of the Historical Archives of La Biennale and other archives to retrace key moments during the 20th century when La Biennale crossed paths with history in Venice.
Cecilia Alemani (Art), Alberto Barbera (Cinema), Marie Chouinard (Dance), Ivan Fedele (Music), Antonio Latella (Theatre), and Hashim Sarkis (Architecture) have drawn on the materials of the ASAC, Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and Rai Teche, but also on the records of other Italian and international archives.
For this exhibition, the directors have selected rare footage, first-hand accounts, and a range of artworks, following various lines of research to examine the many times when the history of La Biennale has overlapped with the history of the world—revealing or generating institutional rifts and political and ethical crises, but also new creative languages.