Scotland and Venice 2009

Dundee Contemporary Arts has been invited to curate Scotland and Venice 2009, a presentation of new work from Scotland for the 53rd International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

The Scottish Arts Council together with the National Galleries of Scotland and British Council Scotland are continuing their successful partnership to drive what will be Scotland’s fourth independent presentation at this most prestigious international showcase.

Scotland and Venice 2009 will build on the critical success of previous projects which have promoted artists including Turner Prize winner Simon Starling and current Turner Prize nominee Cathy Wilkes.

Founded in 1999 Dundee Contemporary Arts is a flagship venue for the visual arts in Scotland, with a strong track record in supporting artistic production of the highest quality and promoting new work nationally and internationally.   The partners believe it is particularly fitting that Scotland and Venice will coincide with DCA’s ten year anniversary programme.

The DCA curatorial team of Judith Winter, Deputy Director/Head of Artistic Programme and Graham Domke, Exhibitions Curator has undertaken initial research and development in Venice.

Jim Tough, Acting Chief Executive at the Scottish Arts Council said

‘Scotland is increasingly concerned with its role as a creative nation with high artistic ambitions in an international context.  Scotland and Venice is a significant showcasing opportunity for the visual arts and we aim to build on the success of previous projects.  We are delighted to be working once again with our partners in the National Galleries of Scotland and British Council and look forward to forging a new relationship with the team at DCA who have the experience and imagination to bring forward a truly exciting project for 2009.’

Dundee Contemporary Arts Director, Clive Gillman, commented:

‘Dundee Contemporary Arts has been key to the continuing success of the visual arts in Scotland since its opening in 1999. We are very proud that this work has been recognised by Scottish Arts Council, National Galleries of Scotland and British Council Scotland and look forward to taking this opportunity to work with the partners to represent Scotland at this incredibly prestigious international cultural event.’

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland Said:

“The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to be working with the Scottish Arts Council, the British Council and DCA. The partnership signals a new and innovative way of working that builds upon existing experience, whilst allowing us the opportunity to draw upon the strengths across the visual arts community within Scotland, to present an ambitious programme on the world’s most visible and influential international platform for contemporary art.”

Roy Cross Director British Council Scotland: ‘Scotland pioneers in the visual arts and we are delighted to be involved in the opportunity to showcase its achievements on an international scale.’

Culture Minister Linda Fabiani said: “Scotland’s continued presence at the Venice International Art Exhibition is hugely significant.  This is a fantastic platform for our world class artists to showcase their work to international audiences.  I am delighted that so many of our artistic organisations will be coming together on this project, demonstrating Scotland’s ongoing commitment to visual arts. Being at Venice and displaying more new work shows how our artists are rightly recognised as among the world's best."

Notes to editors

1. The Venice Biennale is recognised as one of the world’s largest and most prestigious international showcases for contemporary visual art, enabling country representatives to present an exhibition or pavilion dedicated solely to the work of their chosen artist(s).. 76 countries participated in the event in 2007 which ran from 10th June through to 21st November 2007 and attracted 319,332 visitors making it the most attended Biennale of the past twenty five years.

2. Previous Scottish presentations included Zenomap in 2003 (www.zenomap.org ), Selective Memory in 2005 and Scotland and Venice in 2007 (www.scotlandandvenicebiennale.com). Full details of previous presentations can be found on web links above.

3. Details of the artist/artists selected for the 2009 presentation will be announced in mid September.

4. An evaluation of the 2003, 2005 and 2007 projects was commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council and the report From a map to some memories to Scotland and Venice is available on the Scottish Arts Council website at:

http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/information/publications/1005758.aspx(full report)

http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/information/publications/1005760.aspx (summary)

5. The Scottish Arts Council, in conjunction with British Council Scotland and National Galleries of Scotland, has published a book celebrating Scotland’s contribution to the last three Venice Biennales; 2003, 2005 and 2007. Details of the publication can be found here http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/1/artsinscotland/visualarts/projects/scotlandandvenice.aspx

6. The Venice 2009 project is supported by the Scottish Arts Council with additional in-kind support from the National Galleries of Scotland and British Council Scotland.

Contact email(s)

media.office@scottisharts.org.uk

Issued by: Scottish Arts Council