Art Biennale, Venice

The Venice Biennale (la Biennale di Venezia), an international art exhibition, was founded in 1895 and became a godsend for a city desperate for some modern significance. It takes place every two years, and lasts six months. Although the opening week may be an opportunity for the art-dealers and artists to party, spend other people's money and compete with each other, over subsequent months it also attracts thousands of 'normal' visitors and brings neglected bits of the city to life.

It's an international event with countries organising their own shows. The original base of the Biennale was in the Giardini, a park near the waterfront in the Castello district. Over the years various countries built permanent 'pavilions' here to host their shows, some of great architectural interest. Venice's old naval shipyard, the Arsenale, also houses part of the present-day event. A ticket for these two bases costs €18 - you can enter one section one day and the other on a different day. Both include extensive exhibition areas so you'll need to allow a lot of time. Other shows, hosted by pavilion-less countries, are held around Venice and give you a chance to explore private palaces for free - see the bottom of this page for more about these exhibitions.

Various other events take place under the Biennale umbrella organisation, including the prestigious Film Festival, and a modern dance festival. On even-numbered years there is now an Architecture Biennale, which follows much the same pattern as the art one.

The 2009 (53rd) Biennale: 'Making Worlds'

The 2009 Venice Biennale runs from 6th June to 22nd November. The theme is 'Making Worlds' - Fare Mondi.

Last time round Tracey Emin represented Britain, and this time it is the turn of Steve McQueen, who contributes a long and uneventful film
Sunday Times: Venice Biennale tackles the credit crunch
Guardian: Venice Biennale
Telegraph: Venice Biennale 2009: prize collector’s leap of faith

Giardini

The historic base of the Biennale is at Giardini, the public gardens in Venice's Castello district. This is where the national pavilions are located. Even without the art, the pavilions themselves, constructed over the last 100 years, are interesting. A couple are built around trees, and the buildings reflect changing architectural fashions, along with nods to national characteristics (see the Hungarian Pavilion in particular). There are shady places to sit under trees and eat a snack. The nearest vaporetto stop is Giardini.

Arsenale

Be prepared for a lot of walking. This former shipyard (now largely abandoned) covers a massive amount of space - it was the grand military and industrial achievement of the Venetian Republic, building the ships which kept her merchants and her navy so dominant.

Most of the art is housed in a long building once used for making rope. Although to walk the length of the site is a long trek, it is worth persevering until the end, where you find yourself in open space by the old fortified entrance to the docks.

Helpfully, there are several spots outdoors for resting, with chairs and refreshments. The covered dock is one of the most photogenic parts of the great waterbasin.

Our views

The British pavilion's offering from Steve McQueen has received a lot of press. Usually at these events one wanders in, watches a bit of a film installation, gets bored and moves on. Here, in (ironically?) British style, you have to book a time and attend a specific showing, filing in, sitting on steps, and then you're trapped until the end. The captive audience stared with great and dutiful interest at a long series of repetitive, often out-of-focus images of not very much.

Advice

I'd recommend you take a bottle of water, find a programme with a map on it, and allow time to wander and take breaks. Visiting the two main parts of the show on separate days will allow you to pace yourself. It's helpful if you can get hold of a good map of all the locations and details of other shows around town. Usually I enjoy some of the free exhibitions more than others within the ticketed areas. If you are seriously interested in the two main venues, you could consider purchasing a season ticket for €60 which allows unlimited entry (take your passport as ID).

For a hip and arty weekend in Venice you could also see these articles:
> Design hotels in Venice
> A hip weekend in Venice

Free stuff and open palazzi

One of the best things about the Biennale is the chance to nose around inside buildings whose doors are usually firmly closed. Countries without purpose-built pavilions at Giardini often put on shows in other spaces around town, and admission is usually free. Frequently the exhibitions are in interesting palazzi, enabling you to see views of Venice that would otherwise be secret. Official Biennale shows are listed on the website and on the maps displayed around the Biennale area, signs and posters will direct you to other affiliated art shows.