The Venice Biennale records more than 615,000 visitors. Lots of young people

The 57th International Art Exhibition - Viva Arte Viva, organized by the Venice Biennale, chaired by Paolo Baratta and curated by Christine Macel, closed on Sunday, November 26, 2017. According to official data, the 2017 edition saw more than 615,000 visitors (615,152 to be precise) to which 23,531 were added during the varnish. Figures that compared with the 501,502 visitors in 2015 show an increase of 23 percent. High presence of young people: visitors under 26 years old accounted for 31 percent of total visitors. In particular, students who visited the Exhibition in groups accounted for 15 percent of total visitors.

“Beyond the satisfaction that records bring,” said President Paolo Baratta, “to which one should neither bow down nor become accustomed, I like to think that in addition to the merits of our curator Christine Macel, which must all be acknowledged, these numbers are also a symptom of some general positive phenomena. First, a growing familiarity of the public with contemporary art is revealed. And we like to think that this frequentation is the result of a desire to have art and artists as fellow travelers. Secondly, it seems to me that it may reveal a growing desire to discover personally and directly the vitality of art with respect to the daily bombardments of sounds and images to which the world is subjected and by which various behaviors are intended to be induced (including among these bombardments those that occasionally strike us about the market values achieved by some contemporary works of art).” The number of participating countries, 86, is also a sign “of a free cultural choice without advertising returns. I read into this a desire for direct experience with quality contemporary art: one should not be discouraged by suspicion of collusion between art and finance.”

“The aspect I will take with me most,” the curator recalls, "is the freedom I was given to create something with the artists.
Excellent results for the Italian Pav ilion and the Venice Pavilion (170,000 admissions) and success for the always sold-out “A tavola con l’artista” initiative.

“An exceptional record of visitors, of which we are proud, rewards this 57th edition of the Biennale that will be remembered for the beauty and quality of the works.” So said the minister of cultural heritage, Dario Franceschini, commenting on the results of the exhibition. “The Venice Biennale constitutes an excellence in the international art scene that contributes to the image and prestige of Italy in the world.”

Below are all the figures from the 2017 edition of the Biennale:
120 artists invited to the exhibition
86 national participations
30 national participations in the historic pavilions at the Giardini
23 (with Italy) national participations at the Arsenale
33 national participations in the historic center of Venice
3 nations present for the first time are: Antigua and Barbuda, Kiribati, Nigeria
3 nations participating after a long absence: Plurinational State of Bolivia, (last time alone 1966 then with I.I.L.A), Malta (last time 1999), Tunisia (first and last time 1958)
1 Special Project (Pavilion of Applied Arts in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London)
23 Collateral Events

Photo credit La Biennale di Venezia

The Venice Biennale records more than 615,000 visitors. Lots of young people

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