Iceland and Israel Reveal Pavilion Plans for 2022 Venice Biennale

Preparations continue for the 59th Venice Biennale, titled 'Il latte dei sogni' and curated by Cecilia Alemani, running from April 23 to November 27, 2022. The war in Ukraine has impacted the event: the Ukrainian pavilion team suspended work, the Russian team withdrew, and the Biennale stated it will not accept official delegations linked to the Russian government. Iceland's pavilion, 'Perpetual MOTION,' will be held at the Arsenale for the first time, featuring a multisensory sculpture by Reykjavík-based artist Sigurður Guðjónsson, curated by Mónica Bello. The work explores perception through moving images and sound, blurring reality and fiction. Israel's pavilion, 'Queendom,' curated by Shelley Harten of the Jewish Museum Berlin, presents Ilit Azoulay's large-scale photomontages and a sound installation addressing cultural appropriation. Azoulay's archive of photographs documents medieval Islamic metal vessels that traveled from the Middle East to Europe via Venice, now in Western museum collections.