Art——the city's survival strategy
2011年，是威尼斯第54届双年展。威尼斯双年展是一个拥有上百年历史的艺术节，是欧洲最重要的艺术活动之一，除了中间由于历史的原因几年停办外，至今已历时117年。它与德国卡塞尔文献展、巴西圣保罗双年展称为世界三大艺术展，而在三大展览中，它的历史最长，被称为艺术界的嘉年华盛会。威尼斯双年展分为主题展、平行展和国家馆三个部分，主要展览当代艺术。另外，威尼斯电影节是威尼斯双年展的一部分。
1983年4月19日，威尼斯市议会起过一项决议，决定策划一个意大利的艺术双年展。发起人正是当时的市长里卡多.塞瓦提克。就这样，在1894年4月30日, 首届威尼斯双年展开幕，并吸引了20多万名参观者。自此，威尼斯双年展一直延续至今，并在日后陆续建立了威尼斯电影节和威尼斯建筑双年展的完整机制。每隔一年的艺术双年展和建筑双年展刚好相隔又相连，然后就是8月份的威尼斯电影节和9月份的开放展。
整个威尼斯双年展共有接近60个展览，整个展览有接近半年的时间，时间跨度很长。在此期间，同时举办的外围展不计其数。在我看来，威尼斯双年展已经成了这个城市的生存策略。它是用艺术展览经营着这座古老又充满活力的城市。在一年当中几个相关的环节构成了一个艺术节的链条，相互转动，几乎从未停止。
In 2011, the 54th Biennale of Venice was held. Venice Biennale is a festival with a history of over a hundred years, and is Europe's one of the most important art events. Except for a few years' stop due to historical reasons, it has so far lasted for 117 years. Along with Kassel Biennale in Germany and Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil, it enjoyed the name as one of the world's three major art exhibitions, and it is the oldest among the three, known as the Carnival in the Art Circle. Venice Biennale exhibition is divided into Theme Exhibition, Parallel Exhibition and the National Museum, and mainly exhibits contemporary art. In addition, the Venice Film Festival is part of the Venice Biennale.
On April 19, 1983, the City Council of Venice proposed to plan an Italian Art Biennale. The promoter was then the Mayor, Ricardo Saiwatike. In this way, on April 30, 1894, the first Venice Biennale was held and has attracted more than 200,000 visitors. Since then, the Venice Biennale has continued to the present, and has come to establish the complete mechanism including Venice Film Festival and the Venice Architecture Biennale. Both the Venice Biennale and the Architecture Biennale are held every other year, and they are held one after another on successive years, followed by Venice Film Festival in August, and the Open Exhibition in September.
There are about 60 sessions in the exhibition, which last for nearly 6 months. During this long period, there are numerous external exhibitions as well. In my opinion, the V enice Biennale has become the city's survival strategy. The use of art exhibition helps to keep this ancient and dynamic city operating. Several related events form a chain of art festivals, one by one and never stopped.
