In a sign that the coronavirus will continue to have long-lasting impact beyond the end of this year, the 2021 edition of the Venice Biennale, arguably the most important art event in the world, has been postponed. It will now happen one year later than expected, in 2022 instead. The postponement announcement came alongside news that this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale would also be pushed back.

 

The new dates for the Venice Biennale, which has Cecilia Alemani at the helm of the main exhibition, are April 23, 2022, to November 27, 2022, meaning that the festival will now coincide with Documenta 15, another premier European art exhibition. Meanwhile, the Venice Architecture Biennale, which is being overseen this year by Hashim Sarkis, is now slated for May 22, 2021, to November 22, 2021. The Venice Architecture Biennale had already been rescheduled once this year, in March, after its opening was moved back to August. But until now, it had been expected to open in 2020.

 

With more than 225,000 confirmed cases and more than 31,000 deaths from Covid-19, Italy has been among the countries most hard-hit by the pandemic. The postponement of both biennials points up just how dramatically the pandemic will continue to alter programming in the years to come.

 

Source: Alex Greenberger