Since the First International Exhibition of Art in 1895 over a thousand artists have represented Britain at the Venice Biennale - in 1912, for example, one hundred and fifty British artists exhibited together in a group show. The British Council has been responsible for the British presentation at the Venice Biennale since 1938 so if you have a look at our Britain at Venice Biennale website you will find a full history of the British Pavilion from 1895 – 2003, with details of current and past projects.
In 1994 we commissioned British architects Brooks Murray to renovate the Pavilion, refurbishing the piano nobile and transforming the piano terra to include kitchen, toilet facilities, office and entertainment space. Disabled access was also fitted at this time so we are able to offer dedicated wheelchair access to the Pavilion. For any queries on this matter please email Visual Arts Department.
HOME/AWAY: FIVE ARCHITECTS BUILD HOUSING IN BRITAIN AND EUROPE
The unique conditions that have bred the UK’s housing crisis will be put under the spotlight in the British Pavilion for the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia.
Curated by award-winning architecture critic Ellis Woodman, Home/Away: Five British Architects Build Housing in Europe examines how five contemporary architects, all inheritors of the generation gap that ensued when Britain’s programme of post-war reconstruction drew to a close in the 1970s, are vigorously addressing the question of housing again.
This year’s Advisory Panel for the British Pavilion were architects David Chipperfield and Farshid Moussavi; Financial Times Architecture Correspondent, Edwin Heathcote; curator Francesca Ferguson, Director of SAM Basel; and Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum.
To read more about Ellis Woodman's exhibition at the British Pavilion please click here.
Venice Biennale 2008:
11, 12, 13 September - Vernissage days
14 September - 23 November: Open to the Public
For more information on the British Pavilion please contact arts@britishcouncil.org.
STEVE MCQUEEN TO REPRESENT BRITAIN AT THE 2009 VENICE BIENNALEThe British Council is delighted to announce that Steve McQueen has been selected to represent Britain at the 53rd Venice Biennale. McQueen will present a solo exhibition in the British Pavilion to be shown from June to November, 2009.
Born in London in 1969, McQueen works predominantly in film and is considered one of Britain’s most influential artists. He was awarded the first ICA Futures Award in 1996, the Turner Prize in 1999 and an OBE in 2002. His work is represented in museum collections throughout the world and he has shown widely in important group and solo exhibitions. These include Documenta X and XI, the 50th and 52nd Venice Biennales, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Museu Serralves, Oporto, Fondazione Prada, Milan, and the Renaissance Society, Chicago.
As Official War Artist to Iraq, commissioned by the Imperial War Museum in 2003, McQueen generated international media attention with one of his rare non-film works Queen and Country. His first feature film Hunger, commissioned by Channel 4/Film 4, won both the Camera d’Or and an International Film Critics Federation Prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, in addition to the inaugural Sydney Film Prize, for best film at the Sydney Film Festival.
Steve McQueen is represented by Thomas Dane Gallery, London and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris. He lives and works in Amsterdam and London.
For more information please contact Antony Watson on +44 (0)20 7389 4872 or email Antony.Watson@britishcouncil.org
McQueen is represented by Thomas Dane Gallery, London. For inquiries please contact Martine d'Angelejan-Chatillon at martine@thomasdane.com or phone +44 (0)20 7925 2505. For further information about the gallery, please visit www.thomasdane.com
The British Council works with an advisory committee of leading arts professionals across the UK who advises on the artist selection for the Venice Biennale every two years. This is to ensure that the selection process is transparent and broadly based. The advisory committee met on June 19 2008 and was made up of:
- Martin Barlow, Director Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno
- Katrina Brown, Director The Common Guild, Glasgow
- Penelope Curtis, Curator Henry Moore Institute, Leeds
- Stephen Deuchar, Director Tate Britain
- Alex Farquharson, Director Centre for Contemporary Art, Nottingham
- Jack Persekian, Director Al Ma’mal Foundation, East Jerusalem
- Declan McGonagle, Chair in Art & Design & Director School of Art and Design, University of Ulster, Belfast
- Magdalene Odundo, Professor of Ceramics, University College of the Creative Arts, Farnham
- Richard Riley, Head of Exhibitions, British Council
- Adrian Searle, Chief Critic, The Guardian
- Chair: Andrea Rose, Director of Visual Arts, British Council
If you are interested in the minutes of the meeting, you can download them here.
The 53rd International Art Exhibition in Venice will run Sunday 7th June – Sunday 22nd November 2009. Next year the British Council will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary. It has commissioned artists to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale to celebrate the best of emerging and established British artistic talent since 1938, including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Bridget Riley, Anish Kapoor, Mark Wallinger, Paul Nash, Gilbert & George, and most recently Tracey Emin in 2007, amongst many more.
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