My Interview with Warwick University’s Venice Biennale Fellow!

Gregory Segal: What is the Venice Biennale?

Victoria Pap: A Biennale can be defined as an exhibition that occurs every two years. The Venice Biennale is the oldest international exhibition in the world, starting in 1895. Today the Venice Biennale happens every year, alternating between Art and Architecture exhibitions. The Architecture Biennale uses, deconstructs, and builds spaces within the Biennale to exhibit the art of architecture, whereas the Art Biennale predominantly just uses spaces within the exhibition to display a variety of artworks.

What are the Pavilions within the Biennale?

Within the last century a number of countries started to build permanent exhibition spaces to display their national works. These are largely located within the Giardini, which is one part of the Biennale. The British Pavilion is situated within this segment, along with a variety of other countries including France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Japan, etc. Many other nations present their works in temporary spaces outside of the Giardini. Therefore, the Biennale really takes a hold over the entire lagoon with exhibitions happening within a diverse range of spaces.

Could you explain what the current themes of the Architecture Biennale and the British Pavilion are for 2018?

The topic for this years British Pavilion is that of Island. This has been curated by Caruso St John Architects and the artist Marcus Taylor. The motif is revolved around the sensation of Britain being an island separated from Europe, whilst also considering the environmental effects occurring around the world. The pavilion has been left completely barren inside, instead everything has been taken outside and a platform has been built over the top. This is very surprising... it tricks the viewer, as one expects to go inside the space but instead one ends up in a completely different context. Through this arrangement the British Council have attempted to create a very open and neutral space to encourage political and environmental discussions. This allows the community to come together in a very peaceful manner, which is encouraged through fellows serving tea to initiate a cultural exchange.

What is the Golden Lion Award & how well has the British Pavillion done this year?

The Golden Lion Award is an internal award were each pavilion is ranked by a set of judges. Switzerland won the award for the Architecture Biennale this year, however, The British Pavilion came very close to winning but received a special mention.

How did you discover the Biennale and what encouraged you to work for the British Council this year?

Warwick University has the Venice Term for History and Art History students. As a History of Art student I was lucky enough to go and study in Venice for over two-and-a-half months. During this trip we went out and discovered a wide-range of artworks. One part of this course was Exhibiting the Contemporary, this was closely linked to the Biennale and other exhibitions occurring at the same time. The reason why I applied for the fellowship was that I really loved this visit and everything Venice and the Biennale had to offer.

How did you get involved in the British Council's Venice Fellowship Program?

During December I received an email from the History of Art Department announcing that they were looking for applicants. I decided quite spontaneously that I would like to get involved! At this point I sent in a short form, answering a set of questions, and provided a CV to the department. A few weeks later I was shortlisted for an interview. The British Council works with twenty-nine institutions and each of these specific establishments have a number of fellowship posts. Warwick University, for example, can pick up to four individuals, from which the British Council selects two people for a position.

When you arrive in Venice, to take part in the Fellowship Program, what will be your responsibilities?

Each fellow has two key roles. Firstly, we will be working at the Biennale, within the British Pavilion itself. Here, we will engage in the preparation and organisation of the event. Furthermore, each fellow will act as a steward for the Pavilion. The second commitment is to take part in a research program. Our investigation will revolve around the theme of this years Architecture Biennale, this being Freespace, which describes a generosity of spirit and a sense of humanity at the core of architecture's agenda, focusing on the quality of space itself, and/or the motif constructed by the British Council of Island. This research will then be turned into a an academic piece or artistic work, to be shown during the following year within the British Council.

What ideas did you propose to the British Council for your research project?

My project will revolve around political spaces. When I started my research for the Biennale I realised that many of the pavilions had a variety of political undertones, developing ideas about current events, which were translated into the architecture. For example, the German Pavilion has constructed a project entitled Unbuilding Walls. The exhibition provides commentary on the Berlin Wall, which stood for over thirty years and was demolished nearly forty years ago. There still remains a division between East and West Germany and the architecture displayed attempts to discuss this. My work will focus on the political spaces within Venice, both past and present, and compare them with the pavilions within the Biennale. All of this research will be very useful as these motifs link directly to my dissertation, which I will begin during the next academic year.

Would you like to explain how your research project relates to your dissertation?

Sure! My dissertation topic will focus on the architecture of the German Pavilion and how far it has influenced artists. The building is certainly very political, being constructed in 1938 by Ernst Haiger and inaugurated by the ruling Nazi government, it would become a sort-of Nazi icon. Nowadays it is used to describe a specific reaction to Germany's past. I will be looking into how the architecture can be associated with this period, the overall history of the pavilion, and its contemporary uses.

Will the experience of working with the British Council link into your future career prospects?

Yes I hope that it will! I'm interested in continuing my studies by doing a Master's degree in Curating or History of Art, depending on my situation. I would really love to get into the curation process, however, due to History of Art being such a broad subject its still very difficult to say where I will end up.