Given its position as perhaps the world’s most highly respected visual arts festival, one would be hard pressed to find a curator who would hesitate on the question of being involved in a presentation for the Venice Biennale. Particularly in light of the fact that 2003 marks the biennale’s 50th anniversary. And even more so, one would suspect, if that presentation marks the first time that the highlighted country – as in the case with Wales – is represented at the event.
Understandably, then, Patricia Fleming, curator for Wales at the Venice Biennale, is ecstatic. The closest Fleming comes to hesitation is an acknowledgement that, yes, the secret will soon be out: the imminent international exposure which will be provided for Wales by the biennale will ensure that the country emerges with a changed artistic landscape.
