The Board of Directors of the Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta has appointed, upon recommendation by the Artistic Director Okwui Enwezor, the International Jury of the 56th International Art Exhibition composed of the following members:

Naomi Beckwith (USA), Sabine Breitwieser (Austria), Mario Codognato (Italy), Ranjit Hoskote (India), Yongwoo Lee (South Korea).

Okwui Enwezor motivated the choice of the jurors as follows:

“Naomi Beckwith is the Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. She has built over the past few years a remarkable curatorial practice showcasing some of the most interesting emerging artists in the international art scene, often offering them their first solo shows, first at the Studio Museum in Harlem, ICA Philadelphia and now in Chicago.

Sabine Breitwieser is the Director of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, she was Founding Director and Chief Curator of the Generali Foundation in Vienna and the former Chief Curator of Media and Performance Art at the Museum of Modern Art. Her unique curatorial approach to performance art as an emancipatory practice negotiating the physical and the social space of the medium makes her one of the most interesting voices in the field.

Mario Codognato is the 21er Haus Chief Curator and has since his tenure as Chief Curator at MADRE in Naples had a prolific curatorial and editorial career organizing major exhibitions and writing monographs for various institutions around the world on the work of prominent figures of our time.

Ranjit Hoskote is a critic, writer, poet and curator with an insightful knowledge and first- hand experience of the current artistic production in Asia and around the world. He has been extensively published and is essentially a consummate and accomplished “touche-à-tout”.

Yongwoo Lee is a prominent figure in the global curatorial scene with a career that spans over three decades and a particular interest in visual culture as a social practice connecting art, technology and information. While serving as president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation until 2014, Lee developed a compelling art theory and curatorial practice both in his home country and around the world.”

The Jury will award the following official prizes:

– Golden Lion for best National Participation
– Golden Lion for best artist in the International Exhibition All the World’s Futures;
– Silver Lion for a promising young artist in the International Exhibition All the World’s Futures.

The awards ceremony will be held on Saturday May 9th 2015 at Ca’ Giustinian, the historic headquarters of la Biennale di Venezia. The 56th Exhibition will open to the public at 10am that day.

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