Nordic pavilions in Venice

The Venice Biennale was organised for the first time in 1895 and is now celebrating its 53rd year. The festival embraces art exhibitions, dance, music, theatre and architecture.

Fare mondi - Making Worlds

The Biennale enjoys broad international participation and the main exhibition “Making Worlds” includes works by over 90 artists from all over the world. There are exhibitions from 77 countries in their own pavilions as well as 44 collaborative projects.

Queen Sonja opened the Danish and the Nordic pavilions on Thursday afternoon. The pavilions are to be seen as two parts of the same whole and have been constructed to give the impression of a “home” in which the visitor is shown around as if by an estate agent. During the guided tour the stories of the people who “live” there emerge.

The exhibition is entitled “The Collectors” and examines questions such as why people collect things, which factors determine what people choose to collect, which objects people choose to surround themselves with and what that says about them.

Punta della Dogana

Later in the afternoon the Queen attended the official opening of the new museum, Punta della Dogana. The museum is dedicated to contemporary art. Its permanent exhibition will display the collection of the French businessman François Pinault.

Fehn: A Homage

On Friday 5 June the Queen took part in a symposium dedicated to the Norwegian architect Sverre Fehn (1924 - 2009).

The Queen was also given a guided tour of the exhibition at the Venetian Arsenal by curator Daniel Birnbaum, and met Norwegian-Zambian artist Anawana Haloba, whose works are on display there. The Norwegian Minister of Culture and Church Affairs, Mr Trond Giske, was also in attendance.

On Saturday the Queen is scheduled to visit the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.