Danish Pavilion at the 54th Biennale

54th Biennale, Venice Giardini - Thursday June 16th 2011

Many pavilions at the 54th Biennale in Venice were displaying art installations that were neither interactive, nor meaningful to an international audience. The installations were interesting to look at from an aesthetic point of view, but were lacking a meaningful topic that visitors from all over the world could relate to. The Bienalle is a meeting place for artists from all over the world to display their work, so it would be best if they chose this special occasion to communicate a remarkable idea to the audience.

The Danish Pavilion's exhibit "Speech Matters" really stood out from the others, as it used was full of different forms of media to convey their exploration on freedom of speech. There were videos, photo essays, case studies, and a podium like "Speaker's Corner" where visitors are invited to shout their opinions and ideas to other visitors. It is a successful exhibit, because instead of just displaying something visual, the content aimed to provoke discussion and debate.

The 18 artists that collaborated on the exhibit are from 12 different countries each with their own unique issues on freedom of speech such as China, Iran and Denmark.

An extension of the pavilion is Osloo, a "floating pavilion" off the shore of San Servolo. It is a meeting place meant for discussion on the freedom of speech issue, with a bar and a special radio station that will be active for the duration of the exhibit.

(These images are from Google.)

Posted by Laura Palbom & Hyunji Son