The German Pavilion
The first edition is dedicated to Venice as an art location. The lagoon city hosts the world's oldest and most prestigious art biennale. Its concept of national exhibition buildings is unique. So is the listed building of the German Pavilion with its exciting history and architecture. Since 1971, this has been coordinated by the ifa - since 2009 also in the role of commissioner.
The German Pavilion is more controversial than any other at the Venice Biennale. Ever since the National Socialists gave the exhibition building its appearance, which still exists today, it has been the subject of controversy. This is about the history and architecture of the pavilion, as well as the debates about it. Traces of the artistic interventions of past contributions are made visible.
The Venice Biennale continues to adhere to the controversial concept of national pavilions to the present day. We think it is time to ask critical questions. The three international authors Tanja-Bianca Schmidt, Shaunak Mahbubani, and Amarildo Ajasse have each written a contribution. Together we question existing power relations around the Venice Biennale and look at the history of the art biennial and the German Pavilion against the backdrop of (de)colonial and (post)national discourses.
The biennale stories, concept and realization by ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), are the free digital outreach format for the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennial. Through innovative storytelling (scrolling + storytelling), information and background knowledge about the German Pavilion are presented in an easily accessible manner, and new perspectives on the pavilion’s gripping history are opened by means of varying connections between image, text, and audio components.
Since 1971, the ifa has taken on the decisive role in positioning the German Pavilion at the Biennale Arte di Venezia on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office. Since 2009, the ifa has also acted as the Pavilion's commissioner and thus assumed overall responsibility for this major project.
Exciting background and research
Legendary and controversial: the German Pavilion in Venice. With Kolja Reichert (German only)
Immersion in history
© 2024 Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen