It will be a voyage of discovery in a fantastic world, made of music, theatre, games and magic. A whirling universe where people from every country can experience the jokes, the masks, and the make-up. Where you can play hide and seek, then reveal yourself and...amaze. It is a mosaic of arts, made up of numerous pieces, with various and entertaining themes: live music, comedy, acrobats, dancing, costume parades with competitions for the most beautiful masks.
Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) is, as always, the heart of the celebrations. A large covered stage is built to host the exciting music and dance happenings. World music always plays the leading role with international performers. Italian Comedy performances will also be staged on typical traditional Venetian comedy stages.
On a Sunday of February, at 12:00 p.m., the traditional Carnival inauguration with the Volo dell'Angelo: a woman dressed as an angel glides down a rope hung from the top of St. Mark's bell tower, scattering flowers and confetti over the crowd.
Anyone wishing to sample aristocracy during the carnival can go to the Venetian palaces which host masked balls and gala feasts in costume. The city is home to various fashion houses where you can hire splendid period costumes, wigs and masks.
Children can find entertainment and games in Campo San Polo and other places.
CALENDAR 2007:
The 52nd Intl. Art Exhibition, entitled Think with the Senses – Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense, will run 10th June to 21st November, 2007. The international exhibition, set up in the Arsenale and in the Italian Pavilion at the Giardini, will present about a hundred artists from all over the world.
The international landscape is flanked and enriched by the expositions of the 77 countries (a record number set by this edition) displaying works in the historical city centre as well as at the Giardini and Arsenale; since 2006 the latter premises have been the permanent seat of the new Italian Pavilion, an area of central future development for the Biennale exhibition spaces, making its debut this year with an exhibition curated – for the first time in the largest and most important international contemporary art review – by Ida Gianelli and representing one of the main novelties in the 52nd Venice Biennale Exhibition.
Robert Storr’s artistic project has chosen to include, as an integral part of the main exhibition, a Turkish Pavilion as well as a show representing African contemporary art (the “Check List” exhibition from the Sindika Dokolo African Collection of Contemporary Art, Luanda, Angola, curated by Fernando Alvim and Simon Njami) in the Arsenale Artiglierie. The African exhibition has been selected by a panel of experts invited by Robert Storr, constituted by Meskerem Assegued, Ekow Eshun, Lyle Ashton Harris, Kellie Jones and Bisi Silva.
The Venice Film Festival Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia is the oldest film festival in the world. It began in 1932. The 64th edition of the Venice Film Festival will run August 29 to September 8, 2007, directed by Marco Müller. The Festival will be articulated according to the estabilished outline: the Venezia 64 section will present the films competing for the Golden Lion, some of the most important works of the year will screen Out of Competition, while the Orizzonti section is set to provide a picture of new trends in cinema. The international short film competition Corto Cortissimo is also in the line-up of the festival.
This year, the American director Tim Burton will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 64th Venice Film Festival. Mr. Burton’s Golden Lion was proposed by Festival Director, Marco Müller, and approved by the Board of Directors of La Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Davide Croff. The award will be presented to the director on Wednesday 5th September, during a special “Tim Burton Day”.
Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. It is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale, a major biennial exhibition and festival for contemporary art.
The festival's principal awards are the Leone d'Oro (Golden Lion), which is awarded to the best film screened at the festival, and the Coppa Volpi (Volpi Cup), which is awarded to the best actor and actress. Recently, a new award has been added, the San Marco Award for the best film in the "controcorrente" section.
The Venice Biennale's International Festival of Contemporary Music was established in 1930 and was the first festival to run alongside the International Art Exhibition, that had characterized the birth of the Biennale back in 1895. Over the years, the Festival presented world premieres by Strawinsky, Prokofiev and Nono, and its tradition is now renewed under the directorship of Giorgio Battistelli. After Venice music the world, the festival that took place in 2004 and was focused on orchestral music, Battistelli presented in 2005 Music and its double, to suggest the relationship between music and theatre.
Last year, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement was given to Friedrich Cerha, and the Golden Lion for the Music of the Present to Beat Furrer for his work Fama, that was presented on October 5 during the festival.
The Dance section of the Venice Biennale was established in 1999 and directed by Carolyn Carlson in the period 1999-2002. In 2003, Frédéric Flamand was appointed as director, then followed Karole Armitage in 2004 and Ismael Ivo in 2005 and 2006. The next festival will run June 14 to 30, 2007, directed by Ismael Ivo.
The festival will complete the three-year project that director Ismael Ivo has planned on the theme of the body. Right after Body Attack in 2005 and UnderSkin in 2006, the body as desire will inspire choreographers and dance companies from all over the world. During the last two weeks of June, Venice will be a lively scene with shows, performances, meetings and workshops. The workshops will take place from May 23 to July 1, 2007. Application forms to be sent by April 8, 2007.
"Goldoni and the new theatre"is the title of the 39th International Theatre Festival, directed by Maurizio Scaparro, that runs July 18 to 29, 2007. The work of the great Venetian playwright, throughout the program of the festival, will be the chance to find again the roots of modern theatre.
The festival will host a campus dedicated to university students. This event will bring the tradition of outdoor theatre back to the city of Venice, in the campi and campielli, restoring its place in the panorama of great European summer festivals.
The Architecture section of the Venice Biennale was established in 1980, although a few exhibitions had taken place since 1975 within the Art section. The tenth International Architecture Exhibition, directed by Richard Burdett and dedicated to Cities. Architecture and society, took place from 10 September to 19 November, 2006.
