The Venice Biennale

• Enjoy contemporary art in historic locations, from palaces on the Grand Canal to the medieval Arsenale

• Survey major retrospectives of leading modern and contemporary artists at the Palazzo Grassi and on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore

• Appreciate a carefully-curated daily program of exhibitions throughout Venice, including a full day in both the Giardini and the Arsenale, each housing over 20 exhibitions

• Take a day trip to Arte Sella, a magnificent contemporary sculpture park nestled in the Italian Alps

• Discover the modern art collections of Venice and their spectacular settings, from the Prada Foundation in its baroque palace to the Japanese minimalism of the Punta della Dogana
  

*** This program will be updated with further information about the artists and exhibitions of the 2024 Biennale, as they are announced throughout 2023. ***

Tuesday 4 June – Palazzo Manfrin (aperitif and cicchetti)
The tour begins this afternoon when we gather at our hotel and together visit Palazzo Manfrin, a sixteenth-century palace recently restored by the Anish Kapoor Foundation. The palace opened to the public in 2022 with an inaugural exhibition of Kapoor’s work. After our visit, we enjoy welcome drinks and cicchetti (traditional Venetian tapas) at a local wine bar. Overnight Venice.

Wednesday 5 June – The Giardini Biennale (B, D)
In the early twentieth century, the Giardini – a Napoleonic greenspace built over the top of workers’ accommodation – became the Biennale’s permanent home. Today, its tree-lined avenues are punctuated by pavilions, designed for the display of art by architects such as Alvar Aalto and Carlo Scarpa. We begin the day at the Central Pavilion, whose exhibition takes in masterpieces by artists from around the world and is curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the first person from Latin America (and indeed, the first person based in the southern hemisphere) to be appointed artistic director of the Biennale. After a break for lunch, we visit a selection of the Giardini’s national pavilions, including the USA, France and Great Britain. A particular highlight is the Australia Pavilion, this year represented by Archie Moore, a Kamilaroi/Bigambul artist who is just the second Indigenous artist to represent Australia at the Biennale with a solo exhibition. In the evening, we enjoy dinner together at a local restaurant. Overnight Venice.

Thursday 6 June – The Arsenale (B, aperitif)
Over the past 40 years, the Venice Biennale has sought to better reflect the international nature of contemporary art by facilitating the representation of a greater number of non-European nations. Doing this meant offering up more exhibition space, and so Venice’s historic shipyards, empty for decades, were renovated to create 40,000 square metres of additional room. Today, we discover the Arsenale and its surrounds, exploring the second part of Pedrosa’s thematic exhibition before visiting a selection of national pavilions, including Argentina, Ghana, New Zealand and the Philippines. In the evening, we meet for drinks in the hotel to discuss what we have seen today. Overnight Venice.

Friday 7 June – Contemporary art in the San Marco district (B, aperitif)
As the Biennale has grown, it has helped transform Venice into a playground for modern and contemporary art, attracting numerous exhibitions of international standing each year. Today we visit some of these exhibitions in historic locations in Venice, such as the Doge’s Palace. After a break for lunch, we visit the Olivetti showroom designed by Carlo Scarpa, and then visit a selection of smaller exhibitions in the San Marco neighbourhood, ending at the Palazzo Grassi. This eighteenth-century palace was transformed into an art gallery by FIAT magnate Gianni Agnelli, and was later sold to François Pinault who uses it to host exhibitions of leading contemporary artists. After visiting the exhibition, we return to the hotel for a talk over cocktails. Overnight Venice.

Saturday 8 June – Art around town (B)
The success of the Biennale has transformed Venice into a city of modern art, with multiple museums hosting excellent exhibitions during the event. Today we visit exhibitions across the city, including solo exhibitions by leading artists in historic locations and a curated selection of national pavilions, which are often in palaces not usually accessible to the public. After a break for lunch, we tour a selection of exhibitions in the Dorsoduro district, ending with a visit to the Punta della Dogana, a historic customs house converted into a contemporary art museum by Tadao Ando. Overnight Venice.

Sunday 9 June – Arte Sella and the Tomba Brion (B, L)
Today we take a day trip outside of Venice by private coach. Our first stop is at the Tomba Brion, a monumental tomb designed by Carlo Scarpa for the Brion family in the late 1960s. The tomb complex fuses Scarpa’s elegant mid-century modernism with the rich symbolism of life and death, creating a peaceful place of meditation. We then continue into the Alps, where we enjoy an early lunch in a local restaurant before visiting Arte Sella. This little-known but outstanding contemporary sculpture park hosts large-scale works and land art that take full advantage of the tranquil alpine forests and mountain views. In the late afternoon, we return to Venice. Overnight Venice.

Monday 10 June –San Giorgio Maggiore (B)
The island of San Giorgio Maggiore, home to a Benedictine monastery for over 1,000 years, has become a key venue for exhibitions during the Venice Biennale. This morning our visit to the island includes the contemporary art on display in Palladio’s monumental Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore, the regular exhibition of glass art at the Stanze del Vetro, and the exhibition staged in the abbey complex by the Fondazione Cini. After a break for lunch, we visit the Fortuny Museum, which integrates superb contemporary art exhibitions into its permanent collection of the house, textiles and design of Mariano Fortuny. The evening is at leisure.

Tuesday 11 June – Ca’ Pesaro and the Prada Foundation (B, D)
This morning we take a leisurely stroll through the Rialto markets to Ca’ Pesaro, Italy’s first public museum of modern art. The museum’s permanent collection grew from acquisitions during the first decades of the Biennale and places modern Italian art in its broader European and American contexts. After visiting the permanent collection, we then visit the special exhibition of modern and contemporary art that Ca’ Pesaro hosts during the Biennale. After a break for an early lunch, we visit the Prada Foundation in the restored seventeenth-century Palazzo Corner della Regina, which hosts exceptionally well-curated art exhibitions during the Biennale. The later afternoon is at leisure. In the early evening, we share a farewell dinner together in a fine restaurant. Overnight Venice.

Wednesday 12 June – Departure (B)
The tour concludes after breakfast in the hotel this morning.

Hotel Al Codega, Venice, 7 nights
www.hotelalcodega.com

The four-star Hotel Al Codega is ideal for a long stay in Venice. It is a family-run establishment with just 21 rooms, meaning our group will occupy most of the rooms. Located in a hidden courtyard between St Mark’s and the Rialto, it is both quiet and central. Its breakfast, with pastries and other tempting delights still made in-house, is legendary.

• 8 nights’ accommodation in a 4-star hotel

• All breakfasts, 2 dinners and 1 lunch, plus welcome drinks, aperitifs and cicchetti

• Entry fees and tickets to sites mentioned in the final itinerary

• 9 days of transport on Venice’s public transport network

• Guided tours and entrance fees as mentioned in the final itinerary, and tipping

• Talks and expertise of an Australian tour leader throughout
  

A $1,000 deposit is required at the time of booking to confirm your place on this tour.

We’ll invoice you for the balance due on 21 March 2024.

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