Art Class: Arrivederci Venice Biennale

Venice is the place to be if you have an interest in classical art. You can see many works of art by the great Italian masters of painting here. Almost every Cathedral or church is a work of art in itself, every old gallery houses paintings of famous bible scenes but did you know, Venice is quite the hub of contemporary art.

From May until November, as many of us are already aware, the city is transformed into a cultural mecca for those who follow the latest and greatest in art and architecture. However, did you know that aside from the Biennale there is a lot more contemporary art to explore? There are loads of free and independently owned palazzos (palaces - or large private homes) and many of these display fabulous works of art from local or lesser known international artists. During the Biennale opening a piece of street art from the graffiti artist Banksy popped up right in the heart of the student’s quarter. All of Venice is a museum so you just need to walk around to get the experience.

I went to see the Giardini Biennale exhibitions back in May when the Biennale opened, it was the earliest and the keenest I had ever been. Then, I realised this week that six months have flown by and I hadn’t been to see the exhibition at Arsenale. I finally dragged myself to the Biennale a couple of days ago and this post will just be some highlights from the exhibitions. I have to say, among the most memorable pavilions were the Ghanaian pavilion, the Mongolian Pavilion, the Israeli Pavilion and the Philippines Pavilion. Of course I could not see everything single one, I had hoped to see as many as I could in the time frame I had. It was such a dense collection of incredible pieces from around the world and I am infinitely lucky that I was able to experience it yet again this year. It’s already over but make sure you come and join us for the 2020 Biennale.