Venice – «Congestion in artistic cities is a real problem, it was there until January 2020, it is now returning and it will become increasingly imposing. The fragility of some Italian places does not correspond to figures of this kind.” word from Culture Minister Dario Franceschiniwho responded to reporters today, April 22, in Venice for the opening The Italian Pavilion at the 59th Arte Biennale. Franceschini said he supports the idea of having a limited number of entrances to the historic center, explaining that “the mechanisms for regulating access are correct, but that individual cities must choose the best way to do so.”
Proximity to Ukraine
In addition to the “opening” of the Italian pavilion, Franceschini, together with about twenty ministers of culture from all over the world, visited the Ukrainian pavilion as a sign of solidarity with the war-harassed country. “It is the best way to remind us of the tragic time we live in – Franceschini commented succinctly – and to give a sign of closeness to the struggle of the Ukrainian people.”
“We opened this edition of the Venice Biennale by visiting the Ukrainian Pavilion with Ministers of Culture from all over the world. We did it in silence: I think it was the best way to honor Ukraine, to give solidarity and closeness to the struggle of the Ukrainian people. Even in silence, we wanted to remember and live the tragic moment we are going through,” continues the Italian minister.
Italian Pavilion
The Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, has arrived in Venice to visit the 59th Arte Biennale and inaugurate the Italian Pavilion. The minister welcomed him Roberto SekotoAnd President of the Venice Biennalevisit exhibition spaces, including the Ukraine Pavilion.
“In a speech at the opening ceremony of the Italian Pavilion at the 59th edition of the International Art Biennale in Venice, said the Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, Italy should be proud of what it can do, Venice too should be.” Pavilion entitled “The History of the Night and the Fate of Comets” , curated by Eugenio Viola and for the first time in the history of the Italian Pavilion, was held by a single artist, Gian Maria Tosattiit is “an exceptional work – asserts Franceschini – we must visit the pavilion in silence, even in solitude, even if it is a little complicated, because it feels like an essential part of the work itself”.
creative choice
“The choice to create a pavilion with just one artist was innovative and also seems to me farsighted this year – Franceschini adds – once again, the Biennale demonstrates how Italy and Venice can and should open up to the world. An important edition of the Arte Biennale has been announced, an appeal after The terrible months of the epidemic. The welcome that has already been made and the number of reservations that have already arrived shows that it will be a great copy.”
According to the Minister of Culture, the Italian pavilion at the Biennale Art 2022 “in an increasingly convincing way fits into the current of contemporary art. Among the many responsibilities and mistakes of the past, there is also the responsibility not to invest as we should have done in the decades separating us from the Second World War in contemporary art” .
Ignore contemporary art
“We have imagined with guilt, Franceschini explains, that our task of protecting the heritage left by the generations before us, which was vast and extraordinary, was fun and all-encompassing, and thus little room for art was left. Contemporary despite having great masters in Italy, although possessing young talents, despite having decades of quality. There was no such leadership in the ministry. The Contemporary Creativity division was born only a few years ago and now aims to fill this gap and invest in a sector where Italy is the ultimate champion. There is not only a glorious past, but also an extraordinary present ».
investments in arsenal
In his speech, Franceschini thanked the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, “for the work we do together”, and the President of the Venice Biennale, Roberto Secoto. Finally, he indicated the amount of 170 million euros that will be invested in Arsenal: partly for the Biennale, partly for the navy, and partly for the city. “I think it’s proof that we should go back to investing in culture“.
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