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Even though money doesn't exchange hands at the Venice Biennale anymore, the market there is still thriving. It has been driven underground, for sure, but exists in the form of promises, speculation, reservations, and handshakes.
"In 2007, London's London’s White Cube gallery had sold the majority of the works by Tracey Emin in the British pavilion before the biennale had even opened officially. In the same year, the French super-collector François Pinault snapped up a series of paintings by Sigmar Polke in the Padiglione Italia, much to the dismay of some museum directors, who, as Pinault put it mischievously in a recent interview with the Financial Times, arrived "un “un peu après"après”". - The Venice Effect
A large contributor to this continuation of the art market is seen in the biennale's proximity and similarity in season to Art Basel, only a few weeks after the opening of the Venice Biennale in June. There is a significant amount of artistic and gallery overlap between these two monstrous art community events in Western Europe. For those dealers who will also be exhibiting at Basel, the Venice Biennale offers the chance to gauge interest in artists and works, set prices according to competition, and then sell the work for the highest means and to the best collectors a few weeks later. Even though they don't technically sell their wares at the biennale, curators and dealers still spend the opening days accumulating symbolic value for their work by schmoozing with all of the right art community figures, being seen in all the right parties, and sizing up their competition in the time to come. The Venice Biennale is a brand unto itself through its public, highly visible, and exclusive nature. These attributes make the whole affair a recognized power player in the art market because they inspire confidence, in those who attend, that the works being showcased are the cream of the crop so to speak. While Branding is not the only aspect, it is very powerful and important to the Biennale's impact on the art market of today.
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As an international platform, the Venice Biennale can say a lot about the state of the world. At a time in history when we see some nations' governmental structures failing, and they are welcomed, despite war, into the Venice Biennale, we must take note of the neutral status held by the biennale and an openness to art as a form of expression (not of aggression) in non-neutral times. The art itself is not neutral, but the biennale doesn't (itself) censor the messages that are delivered to it. The Biennale occasionally even takes a stance in support of a nation in troubled times or against a regime which is suppressing expression and freedom, two rights the Biennale culture holds dear. The Venice Biennale is slowly becoming a platform for political and social expression through art of the current state of a nation, the impact of politics on humanity, and the need for a global community of awareness. Unlike art fairs, the show allows for accident in the practice of curating by nation instead of as a whole which can lend artwork unintended but deepening layers of interpretation on an international level. The practice of curating by nation, and allowing governments a hand in some selections, has given the entire thing the possibility of political motives... motives… though many times we notice none. The narrative of each country is broadened and sharpened by its juxtaposition with other nations as seen by passerby. An example is the duality of the theme of war between the Iraq and Wales pavilions situated facing each other in off-site pavilions. Though seemingly unrelated, the pavilions enter into a dialogue with one another to express meaningful connections. The themes we see resonating are put onto a global platter and seen altogether we notice how small is the world and how similar are her peoples.
Further examples of the Venice Biennale's political reach can be found. In the case of the dedication of the 1974 Venice Biennale: The event was dedicated to Chile, adopting the nation's cause, in a political statement against the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In the political pressure felt by the Zimbabwean government at the opening of its pavilion: After the arrest of artist Owen Maseko, who is being held for trial after a solo exhibition of work in which he represents and criticizes the government sanctioned massacres of the 1980s, the government was under a great amount of scrutiny as it presented its other renowned artists at the Biennale. In the protests for Ai Weiwei's release: Artist Ai Weiwei is currently being held without charge by the Chinese government after the creation of some works against the authorities. Protestors could be seen with signs calling for Ai Weiwei's release around the Giardini grounds. The Venice Biennale offers a neutral ground on which governments do now prosecute, though they sometimes censor... censor… and it has established itself as a place of political and social protest (often, though not always, in the form of art). Artist Alsoudani for the Iraq pavilion, makes a lot of sense when he claims that there "is no Chinese art scene, or indian art scene, or middle east" claiming that it is simply easier to categorize by such standards when the world is actually getting smaller and more global.
The Venice Biennale's past is behind it, so it falls on the present to secure a long, lasting, and impactful future. Strategies for survival, in an era filled with commerce and art fairs that threaten to overtake it, will be several-fold: differentiating itself from the commercial world by autonomy of the arts, continuing to support progress and innovation in the arts, embracing emerging artists on merit, creating a sense of exclusivity, producing strong and relevant revenue streams that don't objectify or commodify the art on display, and continuing to open before Art Basel to ensure good crowds.
1)http://metropolism.com/magazine/2008-no3/the-art-fair-age/english
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