Monditalia - Arsenale

Monditalia 

Presenting a departure from the typical Biennale format, the two over-arching thematic exhibitions of this year's Biennale set by Rem Koolhaas, present a cohesive and research driven approach to the curatoral subject of Modernism. Unlike previous years, the main venues of the Cordele Arsenale and the big white Central Pavilion in the Giardini present a single unified exhibition rather than a sequence of related themed subject matter.

Within the cavernous space of the Cordele Arsenale which dates from the 12th century as the Venetian Republic's navy and ship building yards, Koolhaas presents a unified scan of Italy's journey through modernism in the last 100 years. For the first it time entwines the other Venice Biennales of music, theatre, dance and cinema, to enrich the understanding of Italy's culture and as a country of melting pot of ideas - the "Fundamental" elements of the country.

Scanning up the boot from north Africa to the Dolomites, Monditalia stitches the key cultural moments in architecture, film and dramatic arts at each latitude. The direct layering of events, at once both unified and diverse, instills a chaotic superimposition, extending to suggest a place in crisis as a country finds its identity and deals with its modernising society and cultural relationships it raises. 

Contemporary Theatre - Biblical stories
On Stage 

Blind dancers mimic wooden dolls at stage A, while a series of biblical stories are reinterpreted through contemporary dance at stage D. Visitors ramble through the space, between performances; a thin line separates the visitors role as observer and participant. 

What becomes apparent in rambling through the space, is the complexity of a country and where even Rem Koolhaas is thrown by Michelangelo's Laurentian Library in Florence; as it stands within the modern city, and as the modern city experiences its past. It is an interactive show which is unified and clear in its intent and in its execution. Weaving it all together is a 15th century map of Italy, acting as a continuous thread which ducks and weaves between visitors, performers, stages; entwining the exhibition it all along the 200m cavernous hall of the Cordele Arsenale. 

Weaving through from North Africa; An ancient map of Italy -
All the way along the Arsenale

Cinema with Architecture with Society 

Contemporary Dance

In the Dolomites...
Real time mapping of melting glaciers - defining changing Swiss / Italian borders
Take a copy home

Visiting Venice? There is a running program of Biennale performances which will activate the exhibition through to the close of the Architecture Biennale at the end of November 2014.