Biennale

The term was popularised by the Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895, but the concept of such a large scale, and intentionally international event goes back to at least the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

Since the 1990s, the terms biennale and biennial have both been used to refer to large-scale international survey shows of contemporary art that recur at regular intervals (Documenta is held every five years, and Skulptur Projekte Münster every ten).

In this respect, 19th century World fairs provided a visual crystallization of colonial culture and were, at the same time, forerunners of contemporary theme parks.

Meant to become a World Fair focused on contemporary art, the Venice Biennale used as a pretext the wedding anniversary of the Italian king and followed up to several national exhibitions organised after Italy unification in 1861.

As a consequence of this, Eurocentric tendency to implode the whole word in an exhibition space, which characterises both the Crystal Palace and the Venice Biennale, is affected by the expansion of the artistic geographical map to scenes traditionally considered as marginal.

The Venice International Film Festival is part of the Venice Biennale . The famous Golden Lion is awarded to the best film screening at the competition.
The Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, the first attempt to condense the representation of the world within a unitary exhibition space.
The structure of the Venice Biennale in 2005 with an international exhibition and the national pavilions.