The world’s oldest and most lionised contemporary art show, the Venice Biennale, has delivered a 51st installment of precedent-setting proportions.
Alternately revered and reviled by the art world, the five-month-long cultural extravaganza opened its pavilion doors on June 12 to reveal creative contributions from 70 countries – the highest number logged its 110 year history. A record contingent of first-time participants includes Afghanistan, Albania, Morocco, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the People’s Republic of China. And female artists, historically underrepresented at the Biennale, are in the spotlight like never before, making up a decisive 38 percent of the curated field, and enjoying a vigorous showing in pavilions from individual nations.
