The 56th International Art Exhibition curated by Okwui Enwezor closed its gates

The 56th International Art Exhibition curated by Okwui Enwezor closed its gates on 22 November 2015. During the conclusive Panel in the Arena of the Central Pavilion (Giardini), the President Paolo Baratta announced the results of the Exhibition and, together with the Curator, bade farewell to the curators of the Countries, the participants and the art world. The exhibition attracted 501,502 visitors.

Young people and students represented 31% of the total number of visitors. The students who visited the Exhibition in groups represented 14% of the public.

“While the number of visitors represents a “significant” achievement (196,000 in 1999) in the history of the Biennale, it is important to us to underline that this is but one of the metrics that we consider in assessing the value and effectiveness of our work. To be more complete in our assessment, in fact, we should account not only for the number of journalists, critics, young people from the schools, and qualified visitors in the field of art, but the intensity of their visit as well, the exchange of knowledge and the enrichment that has been brought by the works of so many artists, gathered and composed by the Curator, to the many who have come to visit over the past months. This is how we measure the richness produced by the Biennale.” stated Paolo Baratta