The Serenissima opens its doors to the Biennale.

From April 23 to November 27, 2022, Venice hosts the 59th International Art Exhibition, curated by Cecilia Alemani and titling The Milk of Dreams.

Inspired by the homonym children's book by surrealist artist Leonora Carrington, the Exhibition takes form as an “imaginary journey” in a world of fantastic creatures, “through the metamorphoses of bodies and definitions of the human”. The exhibition is articulated into three thematic areas: the representation of bodies and their metamorphoses; the relationship between individuals and technologies; the connection between bodies and the Earth.

The Exhibition design - which, although simple and essential, has a great visual impact – is curated by the studio Formafantasma.

The 59th Exhibition, already a special one because of the postponement due to the pandemic (since its first edition in 1895, the Biennale has been postponed only in other two occasions: during the First and Second World War), is curated for the first time by an Italian woman, who has decided to remark the commitment to gender inclusiveness involving a great number of women and non-binary artists.

The Biennale in numbers: the Exhibition will include 213 artists from 58 different countries. Among them, 180 are at their first participation in the Biennale. In total the artworks on show will be 1433, 80 are new productions.

The Exhibition will take place in the Central Pavilion (Giardini) and the Arsenal, and will be accompanied by 80 Nazional Participations in the historic Pavilions. Among them, the Italian Pavilion, located at the Tese delle Vergini in the Arsenal and curated by Eugenio Viola. Camerun Republic, Namibia, Nepal, Sultanate of Oman and Uganda will participate for their first time.

Among the most interesting expositors we mention the Camerun Pavilion with its show The Time of the Chimeras, where a digital platform, realized in collaboration with Artshell and Mr.Lawrence, presents a selection of NFT artworks.

This year the spotlight returns on the city of Venice, transformed into an artistic incubator full of Collateral Events, which join the pluralism of voices of the Biennale.