The 55th International Art Exhibition entitled Il Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace), curated byMassimiliano Gioni and organized by la Biennale di Veneziachaired by Paolo Baratta, will open to the public fromSaturday, June 1 to Sunday, November 24, 2013 at the Giardini and at the Arsenale. The preview is on May 29, 30and 31. The award ceremony and the inauguration will take place on Saturday, June 1.

 

88 National Participations will be exhibitingin the historical Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale and in the city of Venice. Among these 10 countries are participating in the Exhibition for the first time: Angola, Bahamas, Kingdom of Bahrain, Republic of Ivory Coast, Republic of Kosovo,Kuwait, Maldives, Paraguay and Tuvalu.

The novelty is the participation of the Holy See with an exhibition at the Sale d'Armi. In Principio is the title chosen by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (President of the Pontifical Council for Culture) for the Pavilion, which is curated by Antonio Paolucci (Director of the Vatican Museums).

 

The Holy See, Argentina, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates will exhibit in the renovated pavilions of la Biennale at the Sale d'Armi in the Arsenale.

 

This year's Italian Pavilion at the Arsenale is organized by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, withPaBAAC General Direction for the Landscape, Fine Arts, Architecture and Contemporary Art, and is curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi. Thetitle of the Exhibition is "vice versa".

 

47 Collateral Events, approved by the curator of the International Exhibition and promoted by non profit national and international institutions, take place in several locations in Venice.

 

A collaboration between la Biennale di Venezia and il Teatro la Fenice features the Special Project Madama Butterfly.Conceived with the intention to reveal the vitality and modernity of grand opera, the project presents a new Japanese production of the famous work of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Japanese artist Mariko Mori has designed the sets and costumes, and the opera will be directed by Àlex Rigola (Spain), director of Theatre Biennale since 2010 (Teatro la Fenice June 21 > 30 and October 12 > 31, 2013).