Roberto Cicutto

To read Wayne McGregor’s introduction to the programme of Biennale Danza 2022, is like opening the next chapter to follow that of the International Art Exhibition curated by Cecilia Alemani.
Bodies and their metamorphoses, so well portrayed in the exhibition The Milk of Dreams, here transcend new frontiers of transmutation, expanding into virtual worlds to teleport themselves into today’s highly frequented metaverse. A path that is leading to a new definition of contemporary art: “Art is the liminal space of the in-between”.
What is surprising in this transition of landmark importance, which connects different worlds, cancels anthropocentrism and creates new and original types of coexistence, is that Wayne McGregor intervenes by using the most concrete and physical “object” we know: the body, the raw material of dance.
To quote another discipline of La Biennale, the Curator of the next International Architecture Exhibition Lesley Lokko has said: “With all the talk about decarbonisation, it is easy to forget that black bodies were the first unit of energy to fuel the European imperial expansion that has shaped the modern world”. Again the human body.
The difference lies in a new understanding of these bodies, no longer central in their action or the abuse they are subjected to, but presences on an equal standing with everything that surrounds them: a universe that “also” includes human bodies. A Copernican revolution that the arts are interpreting more powerfully than scientific research itself, because they are free of the burden of laboratory validation.
I believe that the curators of all the disciplines of La Biennale are called upon to serve in this role at a time of extraordinary evolution, when respect for all that is not “us” is generating a momentous transformation, compared to which the digital era and its effects are insignificant.
All of the above would make no sense if we did not find new life force in young artists determined to experiment with every possible form that their discipline can offer from a fully transdisciplinary perspective, modifying the traditional canons of perception and interpretation.
I wish to thank Wayne McGregor for his commitment and the passion he brings to the work of the College (a “blood supply”, as he himself defines it), which since his very first year as Director has yielded surprising results.
Wayne McGregor’s work confirms La Biennale’s vocation as a producer, with its uninterrupted programme of commissions and co-commissions to great masters such as Saburo Teshigawara, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement 2022, and established artists such as the Silver Lion Rocío Molina.

Thanks to Ministero della Cultura and Veneto Region, the local institutions that support La Biennale in various ways, the City of Venice, the Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per il Comune di Venezia e Laguna and the Italian Navy.

Thanks to Bottega Veneta, Main Sponsor of the Biennale Danza 2022, and to RAI, Media Partner of La Biennale di Venezia, Venezia Unica and NOWNESS & AnOther Magazine.