UAE is first Arab Gulf country to have pavilion at Venice Biennale 2009

BIENNIAL ART MIDDLE EAST

The United Arab Emirates will be the first Arabian Gulf country to create a national pavilion at the world’s pre-eminent contemporary art exhibition the 2009 Venice Biennale, signaling its emergence as a new cultural hub.

Universally recognized as the world’s most prestigious contemporary art event, the Venice Biennale will present its 53rd International Art Exhibition from June 7 through November 22, 2009.

Abu Dhabi has announced it will mount its own independent exhibition as well, reports Artnet. The show’s goal is to represent the “contemporary visual arts and culture from the perspective of Abu Dhabi and beyond.”

Artinfo reports that the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage has tapped Paris-based curator Catherine David to organize a “Platform for Venice” for the biennale, which will see her produce a survey of the city “visually interpreted by photographers, artists, and filmmakers from the region and abroad.” David directed Documenta 10 in Kassel in 1994-97, the Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam in 2002-04, and will curate the 2009 Lyon Biennial.