Recent years
1999
The new Biennale kicked off: the 48th International Art Exhibition APERTO Over All recovered the historical spaces of the Arsenale (Artiglierie, Isolotto, Tese, Gaggiandre). A new sector was created for live shows: DMT (Dance Music Theatre). From July to October, the Music sector proposed 21 concerts; from August to October the Theatre sector offered 14 shows; on 30th July, the Teatro Verde reopened with Parabola by Carolyn Carlson, and from September to October the Dance sector staged 13 events. From 1st to 11th September, the 56th Mostra del Cinema took place: the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was awarded to Jerry Lewis.
2000
The Cinema sector presented an ample retrospective dedicated to the cinema of the Balkans, La meticcia di fuoco, held between 30th March and 16th April. Between August and September, as usual, the Mostra del Cinema was held, now at its 57th edition: Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Clint Eastwood. On 18th June, the 7th International Architecture Exhibition opened, tempting over 70,000 visitors to the exhibitions in the Giardini and Arsenale. The Dance Music Theatre sectors offered a dense calendar of events.
2001
A festival entitled Shakespeare & Shakespeare took place 2 to 8 March: all of the Biennale sectors were involved in this homage to the Shakespearian world. Othello, directed by Eimuntas Nekrosius, and Virus, by the dancer-choreographer Nigel Charnock, were premiered during the festival. Also in the program the screening of Indian films based on Shakespeare works and a series of presentations with artists whose work was inspired by the Bard, such as Peter Stein, Peter Greenaway, and Josef Svoboda. Activities from the Dance Music Theatre sectors were organised between 5th May and 6th October: world premieres, co-productions, international congresses, for a total of 45 shows plus repeats. Particular success was enjoyed by the special events in the Theatre sector, La pista e la scena (The Ring and the Stage), held on the mainland at the Parco della Bissuola in Mestre. On 9th June, official opening of the 49th International Art Exhibition Plateau of Humankind - which registered the largest participation of foreign countries in its history (63) and a record for the number of visitors (243,000) over the last 20 years. Between 29th August and 8th September the 58th Mostra del Cinema was held; this edition of the festival introduced the novelty of a double competition by placing the Lion of the Year alongside the traditional Golden Lion; Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Eric Rohmer.
2002
The Temps d'images Festival began on 10th February. Dedicated to the relationship between live performance, new forms of creativity, and television and cinematographic media, the festival also took place in Brussels and Paris. On 15th March, Carolyn Carlson presented her new show Waltz Thru Time. The Dance Music Theatre season started on 2nd May until 29th September. Franco Bernabè was appointed at the beginning of the year as the new President of the Biennale, along with the members of the Board, that are responsible for the planning of the activity in the period 2002-2005. The 59th Intl. Venice Film Festival, directed by Moritz de Hadeln, ran from 29th August until 8th September. The 8th International Architecture Exhibition Next, directed by Deyan Sudjic, took place from 8th September until 3rd November, receiving over 101,000 visitors.
2003
The International Art Exhibition presented its 50th edition: Dreams and Conflicts - The Dictatorship of the Viewer was the title chosen by director Francesco Bonami. The exhibition was open June 15 to November 2 and attracted the record number of 260,000 visitors. The public had the chance to meet a number of leading figures from the world of culture in over 120 presentations organized at the Arsenale by the Archive of the Contemporary-ASAC, directed by Giuliano da Empoli, and entitled 99-every idea but one and Tipping Point. The performing art sectors organized their programs reviving the formula of international festivals which are characteristic of the Venice Biennale's history: the 1st Intl. Dance Festival, directed by Frédéric Flamand, took place in June and July; the 47th Intl. Music Festival, directed by Uri Caine, in September; and the 35th Intl. Thetre Festival, directed by Peter Sellars, in October to November 1st. The 60th Intl. Venice Film Festival, directed by Moritz de Hadeln, ran from 27th August until 6th September. On December 23rd, the Italian Government approved the reform of the Biennale, presented by the Minister of Culture, which transformed the Biennale into a Foundation open to contributions from the private sector.
2004
On January 15 the Biennale was transformed into a foundation; in February, Davide Croff was appointed as new president. The 2004 events kicked off with the 2nd Intl. Festival of Contemporary Dance, directed by Karole Armitage, whose two sections ran in June and July. The 36th Intl. Theatre Festival, directed by Massimo Castri, ran September 15 - October 2, and the 48th Intl. Festival of Contemporary Music, directed by Giorgio Battistelli, took place October 14 to 23. Marco Müller was appointed as new director of the Cinema section, and the 61st Mostra Int.le d'Arte Cinematografica (Venice Film Festival) ran September 1-11: Mike Leigh's Vera Drake was awarded the Golden Lion for best film. The 9th Intl. Architecture Exhibition Metamorph, directed by Kurt W. Forster, ran September 12 to November 7 and attracted over 115,000 visitors.
The first Venice Biennale event in 2005 was the 3rd Intl. Festival of Contemporary Dance, directed by Ismael Ivo and entitled Body Attack; the festival opened with an international symposium and a world premiere by The Forsythe Company on May 28-29, whereas the rest of the program ran June 8 to July 2. The 51st International Art Exhibition opened from June 12 to November 6, presenting two international exhibitions at the Giardini (The Experience of Art, directed by María de Corral) and at the Arsenale (Always a Little Further, directed by Rosa Martínez), 70 national participations and 30 collateral exhibitions. The 62nd Venice Film Festival, directed by Marco Müller, ran August 31 to September 10 (Golden Lion for best film to Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain); the 37th International Theatre Festival was directed by Romeo Castellucci and entitled Pompei – The Romance of the Ash (September 15-25); the 49th Intl. Festival of Contemporary Music, directed by Giorgio Battistelli and entitled Music And Its Double, ran September 28 to October 9. From 9 to 12 December, Robert Storr curated an international symposium on contemporary art, entitled Where art worlds meet: Multiple modernities and the global salon.
The higher training center in contemporary dance directed by Ismael Ivo, Arsenale della Danza, set forth its master classes from January 18 to May 30, alongside an additional program of demonstrations and public lectures titled Open Doors (January 29 to April 10). The first edition of the Kids’ Carnival ran February 6-16: a special program of educational activities dedicated to children and kids, families and the general public, connected to the Venice Carnival. Dance was back in the foreground with the 7th Festival, titled Capturing Emotions and running May 26 to June 12. The 12th International Architecture Exhibition ran August 29 to November 21, directed by Kazuyo Sejima and titled People meet in architecture: a very successful event that attracted the record number of 170,801 visitors. The 67th Venice Film Festival opened right after the architecture show (September 1-11) and awarded the Golden Lion to Somewhere by Sofia Coppola. The 54th Festival of Contemporary Music, titled Don Giovanni and the man of stone, ran September 23 to October 2, presenting unusual events such as the opera-labyrinth, Don Giovanni a Venezia, and the special evenings Extempore and Exit_03. The newly appointed director for the Theatre section, Àlex Rigola, launched a series of workshops in preparation of the Festival in 2011, five of which took place from October 12 to December 31, while the two remaining ones were planned for February and March 2011. Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2010: William Forsythe (Dance), Rem Koolhaas (Architecture), John Woo (Cinema), and Wolfgang Rihm (Music).
The Kids’ Carnival organized by the Venice Biennale had its second edition (February 26 to March 8), actually the first international edition due to the participation of several countries owning a pavilion in the Giardini area. The 54th International Art Exhibition, curated by art historian and critic Bice Curiger, ran June 4 to November 27; the exhibition was titled ILLUMInations and attracted over 440,000 visitors making it a new record number for the show. The 68th Venice Film Festival was back on the Lido from August 31 to September 10, directed by Marco Müller; Darren Aronofsky chaired the main jury and the Golden Lion went to Faust by Aleksander Sokurov. The performing arts sections of the Biennale kicked off with the Arsenale della Danza: a cycle of master classes from January to May and six performances May 11 through June 25; the Festival of Contemporaery Music ran September 24 to October 1: titled Mutanti (Mutants), the program featured two workshops realized with the Ircam, Paris; the Theatre Festival ran October 10-16, bringing to a close the workshop program devised by Àlex Rigola that had started in 2010. Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2011: Sturtevant and Franz West (Art), Marco Bellocchio (Cinema), Peter Eötvös (Music), Thomas Ostermeier (Theatre). On December 18, the President and the Board ended their four-year term; on Dec. 21 the Minister of Culture confirmed Paolo Baratta as President and appointed the new Board; on Dec. 27 the Board appointed the new artistic directors for the Architecture (David Chipperfield) and Cinema sections (Alberto Barbera).
Tales and Thoughts is the title given to the third edition of the Kids’ Carnival, organized at Giardini from 11 to 21 February as a special Educational activity. The Arsenale della Danza master classes (fourth edition) ran 30 January to 17 June including the series for the public, Open Doors; the Festival, in its eighth edition, ran 8 to 24 June, opened by the world premiere of Ismael Ivo's Biblioteca del corpo. The new session of the International Theatre Workshop ran 4 to 13 August, featuring the participation of five important theatre directors. On 29 August both the 13th International Architecture Exhibition, titled Common Ground and directed by David Chipperfield (178,000 visitors) and the 69th Venice Film Festival kicked off, the latter directed by Alberto Barbera (until 8 September); Pieta by Kim Ki-duk was the Golden Lion winner. The 56th International Festival of Contemporary Music ran from 6 to 13 October, titled +Extreme- and directed by Ivan Fedele. Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement in 2012: Sylvie Guillem (Dance), Luca Ronconi (Theatre), Álvaro Siza Vieira (Architecture), Francesco Rosi (Cinema) and Pierre Boulez (Music).
