Venice, 29 January 2015 – Preparations are in full swing for the Philippines’ participation at the 56th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale to be held from 9 May to 22 November 2015 in Venice, Italy.
A technical team from the Philippines led by Dr. Patrick Flores arrived on 20 January in Venice to start organizing the Philippine Pavilion in Palazzo Mora. Dr. Flores is the curator of the Philippine exhibit at the Biennale.
As part of the preparations, Milan PCG facilitated on 21 January 2015 at the La Biennale de Venezia office a meeting between Mr. Andrea Del Mercato, General Manager of the 56th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale and Ms. Manuela Luca-Dazio, main coordinator for the exhibition, and the Philippine technical team composed of Dr. Flores and Ms. Riya Lopez of the Philippine National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA).
In the meeting, Dr. Flores presented the Philippines’ plan for the exhibit and its theme “Tie a String Around the World”. Both Mr. Mercato and Ms. Luca-Dazio on their part welcomed the return of the Philippines to the Venice Biennale and expressed how much they were looking forward to the Philippines’ participation. They also took the opportunity to explain some of the important dates and other technical information needed by the Philippine team to ensure a successful participation at the Biennale.
The Venice Biennale is the premier art exhibition in the world that takes place once every two years (in odd years) in Venice, Italy. Technically, it is the Olympics of the art world. The last time the Philippines participated was in 1964. The Philippines’ participation this year is largely due to the efforts of the Honorable Senator Loren Legarda who believed it was time for the Philippines to once again make its presence felt at the Biennale after 51 years.
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