Jane Verdonk
In Venice, every 2 years (hence the name biennial – biennially) held the international art exhibition Biennale. This year it will take place from April 23 to November 27, 2022.
First, a little history. The first Biennale was opened on April 20 in 1895 in the presence of King Umberto I and Margherita di Savoia. It was an immediate success. There were no fewer than 224.000 visitors.
That first exhibition was organized by the then mayor of the city Riccardo Selvatico. In the Giardini, one of the main locations of the Biennale, there is a statue (bust) of him.
Only during the World Wars there was no Biennale. In 1975 the first Architecture Biennale was organized. The Art and Architecture Biennale alternate and are both at the 'Giardini' and 'Arsenale' locations. There is now also a Music, Dance, Film (Mostra di Venezia) and Theater Biennale.
This year you can visit the Art Biennale of 2022 until the end of November!
Crowds near San Marco Square 
But not everywhere is busy in Venice
The country pavilions
Over the years, 27 countries built their own pavilion. The Scandinavian countries have a joint pavilion, the city of Venice has its own pavilion and then there is also the central pavilion.
Belgium was the first country to have a pavilion. The Dutch pavilion was designed by Gerrit Rietveld and was inaugurated in 1954, before using the original Swedish pavilion.
In 1995 the Dutch pavilion was thoroughly restored. In 1996, South Korea built the last pavilion.
Other countries wishing to present themselves must do so in other locations, such as the Arsenale. Also in vacant palaces spread over the city, countries present themselves, because in the Giardini is no longer being built.
World trip
When you visit the Biennale, you make a kind of world trip. You walk from Australia to France, from Germany to Korea and from Greece to Egypt.
The art on display often reflects the current situation. For example, in 2019, when relations between Israel and the Palestinians had deteriorated again, a group of police officers stood outside the Israeli pavilion, while inside a kind of emergency hospital could be seen.
This year's Biennale is modest and understated, perhaps because of the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the pandemic.
The doors of the Russian pavilion are closed this year and in the week of the opening the air-raid siren blared over the quays of Venice every evening.
'The Venice Biennale is revealing of the tensions in the world, and how nations want to present themselves,' said Nicholas Serota, the then director of Tate Gallery, at a previous Biennale.
The Milk of Dreams
The curator this year is the Italian Cecilia Alemani and the theme is 'The Milk of Dreams'. Leonora Carrington's (1917-2011) children's book served as inspiration, a book of fables about a magical world in which a boy has wings for ears and his head flies away.
During the current Biennale it is about identity, technology and society. Works by 213 artists are on display, 58 countries are participating and there is a remarkable amount of work by female artists.
The Dutch Pavilion
The Netherlands lent its pavilion to Estonia this year and has now found its own place in the Chiesetta della Misericordia (take vaporetto line 1 and get off at Ca' d'Oro).
In this church is the film titled When the body says yes by melanie bonajo (the artist prefers not to have their names written in capital letters because that suggests hierarchy).
In the film, queer people pour oil over each other's bodies and talk about their genitals and the limits of the body. You can watch the film lying on soft cushions.
In the Belgian pavilion you can see a few short films by Francis Abys, in the American pavilion you can see beautiful images by Simone Leigh and especially in the German pavilion take a good look at the white walls…
The French pavilion, which has been converted into a film set by Zineb Sedira, is also beautiful. You will see old film cans, an old-fashioned cafe and a furnished living room from the 60s.
France South Korea Switzerland 
Snail race: film in the Belgian pavilion 
Belgium USA
Impressive is the Canadian pavilion, where Stan Douglas' razor-sharp photographs of the Occupy movement in New York, riots in London and Vancouver and the Arab Spring in Tunisia can be admired.
A large elephant can be seen in the central pavilion. Once in the gardens of the Biennale there was a real elephant named Toni known as 'the prisoner of the Giardini'.
2 locations: Giardini and Arsenale
The Biennale thus has 2 main venues, the 'Giardini' and the 'Arsenale'.
The 'Giardini' is a large park, which was created in 1810 and was initially not accessible to the general public. It was often neglected, but since 2014 it has been better maintained. There is a nice coffee shop at the entrance.
gardens Coffee house at the start of the Biennale
The 'Arsenale' is a large shipyard from the 12e century. This was continuously expanded and in the 15e century, the yard was even the largest industrial complex in Europe, employing as many as 16.000 people.
In its heyday, 7 ships a month were made here. After Napoleon conquered Venice in 1797, the wharf fell into disrepair. Today it is owned by the state and part of it is used for the Biennale.
Practical information about the Venice Biennale
Do you want to go to the 2022 Biennale? Here you will find some practical information.
It is best to buy the tickets online to avoid long lines: https://www.labiennale.org/en/art/2022.
The ticket is valid for one day in the Giardini and one day (can be any other day) in the Arsenale. Until the end of September, the Biennale is open from 10.00 a.m. to 19.00 p.m., from October until 18.00 p.m.
From Piazzale Roma you can take the ferry (boat) (ticket sales are in front of the jetty), numbers 5.1, 5.2, 4.1, 4.2 and 6 where 6 is the fastest to the Biennale. This does not stop at Arsenale, but from Giardini it is about a 10-minute walk. If you want to see the city from the water, take line 1, which stops everywhere, but you will pass many sights such as the Rialto Bridge.
Venice from the vaporetto Rialto Bridge 
On the way with the vaporetto to the Biennale Vaporetto stop for the Biennale
I usually take the vaporetto on the way there and walk back. You can walk along the riverside promenade 'Riva degli Schiavoni' until you reach Piazza San Marco, after which you walk criss-cross through the city, where Piazzale Roma is always signposted.
Don't have time this year to go to the Biennale? The Architecture Biennale will be held next year from 20 May to 26 November. The theme is 'The Laboratory of the Future' and the curator Lesley Lokko.
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