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10TH MARCH 2015, LONDON
UK AT THE VENICE BIENNALE 2015
56TH INTERNATIONAL ART EXHIBITION
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA
PONTE
DEGLI SCALZI
SCOTLAND
+ VENICE
PONTE DELLA
COSTITUZIONE
PONTE
DELL´ACCADEMIA
PONTE DI RIALTO
ST MARK’S
SQUARE
WALES IN VENICE
BRITISH PAVILION
The British Council is delighted to announce its partnership with Scotland and Wales in presenting
three exhibitions at the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
The British Council has commissioned artists for the British Pavilion since 1938, showcasing the best
of artistic talent from the UK. Past artists have included Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Bridget
Riley, Richard Long, Anish Kapoor, Mark Wallinger, Rachel Whiteread, Gilbert & George, Tracey Emin,
Steve McQueen, Mike Nelson and most recently Jeremy Deller in 2013.
Since 2003, independent exhibitions from the UK nations have taken place in Venice and we are
delighted to be working closely with Scotland + Venice and Wales in Venice to showcase three of
the most interesting contemporary artists from Britain.
GREAT BRITAIN – SARAH LUCAS
Sarah Lucas (b.1962, London) will present a solo exhibition of new work in the British Pavilion.
Over the course of two decades, Lucas has become recognised as one of Britain’s most significant
contemporary artists. Spanning sculpture, photography and installation, her work has consistently
been characterised by irreverent humour and the use of everyday ‘readymade’ objects – furniture,
food, tabloid newspapers, tights, toilets, cigarettes – to conjure up sexual puns and corporeal
fragments. By turns brutal and elegiac, lewd and lyrical, Lucas’s art has continued to confront
such big themes as sex, death and abjection.
The British Council has commissioned artists to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale since
1938 and Lucas’s exhibition will be the twentieth solo presentation in the British Pavilion.
The British Council’s commission follows on from her major retrospective, SITUATION Absolute
Beach Man Rubble at the Whitechapel Gallery, London (2013), and surveys of her work at Secession,
Vienna (2013–14) and at Tramway, Glasgow (2014).
The Sarah Lucas exhibition for Venice is organised and presented by the British Council’s
Visual Arts Department. The Commissioner of the British Pavilion is Emma Dexter, Director of
Visual Arts Department.
SCOTLAND – GRAHAM FAGEN
Glasgow-based artist Graham Fagen will present a new body of work, including sculptures,
drawings and a five channel audio-visual installation for Scotland + Venice 2015. The exhibition
is commissioned by Hospitalfield in Arbroath, Scotland and will be held at Palazzo Fontana, a new
venue for Scotland + Venice – located on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district of Venice.
Graham Fagen is one of the most influential artists working in Scotland today. Throughout his career,
Fagen has regularly incorporated elements of his own national, cultural and social identity into
his work. Often using the artifice of theatre for the development of a narrative, Fagen will use the
16th century palace as an historic backdrop for his presentation, choreographing an entirely new
body of work across four rooms of the palazzo to create a path through which visitors can effectively
become performers within the piece.
Drawing on his long-term commitment to collaboration across multiple art forms and disciplines,
Fagen will bring together internationally renowned composer Sally Beamish, the musicians of
the Scottish Ensemble, reggae singer and musician Ghetto Priest and music producer Adrian
Sherwood to realise an ambitious installation. Sound that draws on very different musical traditions – Scottish folk song, classical music and reggae – will pervade the rooms of Palazzo Fontana,
creating a melancholic and ambiguous body of work.
An illustrated publication which documents the breadth of Fagen’s career, including his presentation
for Scotland + Venice 2015, will be published by Hospitalfield to coincide with the opening of
the exhibition in Venice. Texts include contributions from Penelope Curtis, Director of Tate Britain,
and Katrina Brown, Director of The Common Guild, alongside an interview with Scottish novelist
Louise Welsh and Graham Fagen, with an introduction from Lucy Byatt, Director of Hospitalfield.
Scotland + Venice 2015 with Graham Fagen is presented by Creative Scotland, the National
Galleries of Scotland and the British Council, commissioned and curated by Hospitalfield in
Arbroath, Scotland.
WALES – HELEN SEAR
Helen Sear will represent Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice at the 56th International Art
Exhibition. Curated by Ffotogallery this will be the first time for Wales to present a solo exhibition
by a female artist.
Known as one of Wales’ most significant contemporary artists, Helen Sear’s practice can be
characterised by her exploration of the crossover between photography and fine art and her focus
on the co-existence of the human, animal, and natural worlds.
With an exemplary track record for producing high quality, conceptually rigorous art, Helen Sear’s
current work shows particular maturity and sophistication, seamlessly moving between expanded
notions of photography, sculpture and video, she exhibits great command of different materials
and production processes. These developments, coinciding with renewed interest in and critical
acclaim for the artist’s work and her profile internationally as well as in Wales, make this the perfect
moment for Helen Sear to represent Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice.
The Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice exhibition will be presented for the third time at the Santa
Maria Ausiliatrice in Castello, located just off Via Garibaldi, midway between the main Biennale
Giardini and Arsenale sites.
Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice is commissioned by the Arts Council of Wales with support
from Welsh Government, British Council and Wales Arts International.
VENUES, CONTACTS, NOTES TO EDITORS AND ACCREDITATION
GREAT BRITAIN
Sarah Lucas; British Pavilion, Giardini di Castello, 30122, Venezia
9 May – 22 November 2015
Twitter: @Brit_VisualArts, www.britishcouncil.org/visualarts
NOTES TO EDITORS
The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries
and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s
international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our 7000 staff in over
100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people
every year through English, arts, education and society programmes. We earn over 75% of our annual
turnover of nearly £700 million from services which customers pay for, education and development
contracts we bid for and from partnerships. A UK Government grant provides the remaining 25%.
We match every £1 of core public funding with over £3 earned in pursuit of our charitable purpose.
The British Council works with an advisory committee of leading arts professionals across the
UK which advises on the artist selection for the Venice Biennale every two years. This is to
ensure that the selection process is transparent and broadly based. For further information please
visit www.britishcouncil.org/venicebiennale
THE VENICE BIENNALE SELECTION COMMITTEE FOR 2015
Charles Darwent, Art Critic and Writer; Lisa Le Feuvre, Head of Sculpture Studies, Henry Moore
Institute, Leeds; Hannah Firth, Director of Visual Arts, Chapter, Cardiff; Margot Heller, Director,
South London Gallery; Francesco Manacorda, Artistic Director, Tate Liverpool; Francis McKee,
Director, Centre for Contemporary Art, Glasgow; Gregor Muir, Executive Director, Institute of
Contemporary Arts, London; Polly Staple, Director, Chisenhale Gallery, London; Chair: Andrea Rose,
former Director Visual Arts, British Council, London.
INTERVIEWS AND IMAGE REQUESTS
Chloe Kinsman or Kara Reaney, Pelham Communications
T. +44 (0)208 9693959
E. chloe@pelhamcommunications.com or kara@pelhamcommunications.com
INFORMATION ABOUT THE BRITISH COUNCIL
Mary Doherty, British Council
E. mary.doherty@britishcouncil.org
SCOTLAND + VENICE
Graham Fagen, curated by Hospitalfield, at Palazzo Fontana, Cannaregio 3829, Venezia
(access via Strada Nuova, Calle Fontana)
9 May – 22 November 2015
A press preview will take place on Tuesday 5 May from 12 – 6pm
Facebook: facebook.com/scotlandandvenice, Instagram: instagram.com/scotlandvenice,
Twitter: @ScotlandVenice, www.scotlandandvenice.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Scotland + Venice is a partnership between Creative Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland
and the British Council. Representatives of these organisations sit on the Steering Group that
oversees the successful delivery of the project.
Hospitalfield: an Artist’s House, located in Arbroath, Scotland, holds a programme of residencies,
commissions and curated projects which aim to negotiate and inspire an interplay between the
heritage and history of the site and contemporary cultural ideas and practices. From the semi-rural
location on the east coast of Scotland, Hospitalfield works with a range of partners to ensure that
the organisation plays a significant role within the national cultural ecology and wider international
network. The 19th century Scottish artist Patrick Allan-Fraser (1813-1890), inspired by his term of
presidency at the Royal Academy in Rome, left his estate in trust to become a residential art school.
The model has necessarily changed over time and Hospitalfield are currently working on the first
phase of a 21st century Future Plan, led by architects Caruso St John. For further information on
Hospitalfield, please visit: www.hospitalfield.org.uk, www.facebook.com/hospitalfield, @Hospitalfield
28 students and recent graduates from 7 art and design schools across Scotland have been selected
by Hospitalfield to become members of the largest Scotland + Venice Learning Programme to date.
The scheme gives young art school students and graduates the opportunity to learn and develop
new skills within the context of the 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia.
Established in 2003, this year’s programme will host students from the City of Glasgow College,
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee, Edinburgh College of Art, The Glasgow
School of Art and Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, as well as new participants to the scheme,
Dundee and Angus College (both Arbroath Campus and Gardyne Campus, Dundee) and Moray
School of Art, University of the Highlands and Islands in Elgin. Further details of the Scotland +
Venice Learning Programme can be found here: www.scotlandandvenice.com/learning-programme
MEDIA CONTACT
Allison Thorpe, Sutton PR
T. +44 (0)20 7183 3577 or +44 (0)7872 030 946
E. allison@suttonpr.com
WALES IN VENICE
Helen Sear, …the rest is smoke, Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, Castello, Venezia
9 May – 22 November 2015
A press preview will take place on Wednesday 6 May 2015 at 12 – 2pm at Santa Maria Ausiliatrice
Facebook: facebook.com/WalesInVenice, Twitter: @WalesInVenice, www.walesvenicebiennale.org.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS
Helen Sear first moved to Wales in 1984 after completing an HDFA at the Slade School, University
College London. Her photographs became widely known in the 1991 British Council exhibition,
De-Composition: Constructed Photography in Britain, which toured Latin America and Eastern
Europe. Her work was included in the exhibition About Face at the Hayward Gallery, London in
summer 2004 and La Mirada Reflexiva at the Espai D’Art Contemporani in Castellon Spain in
2005. Recent solo exhibitions include, Inside The View, shown at Gallery Harmonia in Finland in
2006, g39 Cardiff who also published the bookwork Tale in 2009, Beyond The View, Hoopers Gallery
London, Klompching Gallery New York and Bildkultur, Stuttgart, 2010–12. Ffotogallery published
her first major monograph in 2012 Inside The View. GOST published the bookwork Brisées in 2013
which accompanied a major national tour Lure in the same year. Her most recent exhibition was
at the 5th edition of Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie en Gaspesié, Quebec, Canada.
Summer 2014. www.helensear.com
Ffotogallery is the national development agency for photography and lens-based media in Wales.
Its view is outward looking, with an exhibition programme featuring artists from Wales and the rest
of the world. Ffotogallery is a not for profit company limited by guarantee and a registered charity,
in receipt of annual funding from Arts Council of Wales. www.ffotogallery.org
Stuart Cameron is an independent curator and Director of Crescent Arts, an artist-development
organisation based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and funded by Arts Council England.
He facilitated major new work with artists including Cornelia Parker and Mona Hatoum – both of
which were subsequently nominated for the Turner Prize. Recent projects with artists include
Rushton Tyman’s ‘The Wild’, Keith Farquhar’s ‘In Domestos Chaos’, Monica Ross’s ‘Anniversary’
and The Art Party Conference 2013 with Bob and Roberta Smith.
Arts Council of Wales is the country’s funding and development agency for the arts. Its vision
is of a creative Wales where the arts are central to the life of the nation and to ensure that the
contribution of the arts is recognised, valued and celebrated. www.artscouncilofwales.org.uk
MEDIA CONTACT
Siân James
T. +029 2044 1344 or 07969 821180
E. sian.james@artscouncilofwales.org.uk
OTHER UK & INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Emma Pettit or Roz Arratoon, Margaret
T. +44 (0)20 7923 2861
E. emma@margaretlondon.com or roz@margaretlondon.com
BIENNALE PRESS ACCREDITATION
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PRESS PROFESSIONALS WISHING TO ATTEND THE VERNISSAGE WEEK
MUST COMPLETE THE ACCREDITATION PROCESS AS DETAILED ON THE BIENNALE WEBSITE
PRESS PREVIEW REGISTRATION 6–8 MAY 2015
The preview of the 56th International Art Exhibition will take place as follows;
Wednesday May 6; reserved for press agencies, dailies, weeklies, TV and radio press and chief
editors, correspondents (nominated by chief editors) of art periodicals; Thursday May 7 and
Friday May 8; for non-specialist periodicals and all the categories mentioned above.
For the preview and during the entire running time of the 56th International Art Exhibition it is
necessary to complete the following accreditation procedure:
• Provision of an official letter signed by the editor in chief confirming the assignment to cover
the 56th International Art Exhibition.
• Provision of a published article on the 55th International Art Exhibition or a recently published
article in case of first time request.
• Submission of the fully completed accreditation form.
• Provision of a recent passport-size photo (jpg 200 KB) to be attached to the form or sent by e-mail.
Application forms sent without the required documents will not be taken into account.
The Press Office of the Venice Biennale will confirm the accreditation via email.
The accreditation procedure also refers to AICA and ICOM card holders. AICA and ICOM cards
alone do not entitle to press accreditation.
Accreditation forms have to be submitted by April 15, 2015.
For full details and to compete the accreditation forms please visit
www.labiennale.org/en/art/exhibition/press-accreditation
Accreditation for Arts Professionals is also open on the Biennale website, deadline April 10, 2015.
www.labiennale.org/en/art/exhibition/preview