Word: zealanders
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...best national presentation, but even more sought after in Venice is cultural kudos. During Vernissage, the official preview before the Biennale opens to the public on June 12, countries have only three days to impress the world. While Australia has enjoyed its own pavilion since 1954 and New Zealand (now at its third Biennale) shows off-site, the two countries have much in common. Under the shadow of the G8 nations that dominate the Giardini, both have to rely on marketing campaigns every bit as artful as their exhibitions. "Because you're small," explains Greive, "you've just...
...this end, Greive and his Creative New Zealand team-mates have concocted a Key Influencer strategy. This has identified the world's top 200 taste-makers bound for Venice and letter-bombed them with an introductory note from the artists of et al. "This is not a religious or philosophical organization," their manifesto-like leaflet reads. "However, this information has already prompted many individuals to devote their entire energy to the transitional process?" Following up on the ground, et al.'s commissioner Greg Burke has been traveling the world's art capitals. "This morning in L.A. I had breakfast with...
...With an exhibition budget of $A1.4 million, triple that of New Zealand, Australia can afford to be more relaxed. Which suits the artist. While et al.'s installations often feature cyclone fencing and cacophonous sound loops, Swallow's pale wood carvings of skulls and suburban beanbags speak more softly. "The Biennale is about this explosion of shows, and you've got such little time to look at everything," Swallow says. "So the idea I want is almost like a cool room away from that experience." Not that Australia is resting on its laurels. As well as the usual bags...
...Meanwhile in London, P.R. firm Brunswick Arts is fielding rsvps for Australia's own Biennale bash on June 9. While the New Zealanders promise "music from London; films by Len Lye," Australia is offering a more restrained reception at the seriously elegant Hotel Cipriani. The parties reflect the different approaches the two countries are taking to promote their artists this year: for the controversial collective called et al., New Zealand is going loud; with slacker-generation sculptor Ricky Swallow, "it's a much more subtle kind of approach," says Karilyn Brown, head of audience and market development...
...world's oldest art fair, Venice is but one of a number of biennales the Australia Council targets to position its artists internationally: "it's part of a much bigger strategy and matrix of events and approaches," says Brown. But for New Zealand's Burke, it is the be-all and end-all; a one-stop shop for contemporary art. So when et al.'s "the fundamental practice" opens next Thursday, it will be the climax of a near-military campaign since the artists were chosen in July last year...