Iceland and Lebanon Announce Artists for 2017 Venice Biennale

Egill Sæbjörnsson will represent Iceland at the 2017 Venice Biennale, which runs from May 13 to November 26, 2017. The artist, based between Berlin and Reykjavik, was selected for his ability to merge divergent worlds through various media, creating immersive environments where reality intersects with imagination. His work has been shown at Hamburger Bahnhof, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Kölnischer Kunstverein, MoMA PS1, and Kiasma Helsinki. Meanwhile, Lebanon has chosen Zad Moultaka for its pavilion, curated by art historian and critic Emmanuel Daydé. Moultaka, a composer and artist, previously participated in the 2015 Venice Biennale. His work integrates Western and Arabic music languages and rhythms. For Venice, he will create "Sacrum," a multimedia installation inspired by prehistoric caves such as Jeita in Lebanon and Chauvet in France, to be held at the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia. Moultaka stated that in times of Middle Eastern disintegration, every act must consider this catastrophe.