Venice donors page
Co-investing to champion the Biennale Arte
The generosity of individuals and organisations committed to showcasing contemporary Australian visual arts globally ensures the continued success of Australia at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Donations and corporate sponsorships provide three quarters of the funding for this project. There are many ways individuals, families and companies can be part of Australia’s representation at the Venice Biennale through giving and attending the exhibition.
Venice champions' program
More than 200 like-minded individuals give to enable Australia’s participation in the Venice Biennale. This co-investment model also offers opportunities for our supporters to travel to Europe and connect with the world oldest contemporary art biennale and the historic city of Venice through participation in the Venice Champions Program. While in Venice, Champions enjoy a specially curated program of activities, experiences and events led by the Chair of the Venice Council; Kerry Gardner AM.
Champions Programs 2022: We are currently crafting our Champions’ program for 2022. The program will be offered for supporters to experience Australia’s 2022 exhibition in our national pavilion within the Giardini della Biennale, but also a beautifully curated program of events around Venice.
Next year, and into 2022, Champions will be invited to make a tax deductible donation to the exhibition and pay a registration fee to cover the hospitality and experiences they’ll enjoy in Venice and at the Venice Biennale 2022.
Priority Reservation: While we wait for Federal Government advice on international travel, you can reserve your place in the 2022 Champions’ programs at no cost here. Priority reservations will be at no obligation, but will ensure your place on the Champions’ program and it will help us plan the activities and events that you will enjoy in Venice.
Refund Policy
The Australia Council will refund the registration fee for the ‘Aus at Venice’ Champions’ program up to sixty days prior to each program. All donations are gifts freely given, and as such are not subject to refund.
Download the terms and conditions (has been updated)
Contact
Discuss the ways you would like to be part of Australia's representation at the Venice Biennale by contacting:
Enid Charlton
Manager Co-investment
Australia Council for the Arts
e.charlton@australiacouncil.gov.au
+61 2 9215 9067
Kerry Gardner AM, Chair of the Venice Council
Kerry Gardner is a documentary film maker with a deep background in the arts, philanthropy and non-profit leadership, and is a champion of public/ private partnership.
She has served as Deputy Chair on the boards of the Heide Museum of Modern Art and the Malthouse Theatre, and as a Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
In February 2018 she was appointed Chair of the Venice Council, successfully helming the Australia Council’s fundraising for the Biennale Arte 2019, as well as redesigning the donor experience program for patrons and establishing an International Patrons’ Program based in London.
Catherine Kovesi: How witlessly lucky we were…
Ingenuity, gilded beauty, and fragility might be the watchwords for Venice in these surreal, liminal, COVID days.
Plagued by mismanagement and scandal, no one in the city had quite believed the MOSE gates would ever be completed, let alone work. And yet on 3 October, a forecast acqua alta of 135cm was reduced to a mere 70cm and the city’s lowest point, the Piazza San Marco, stayed completely dry. Whilst the gates are not scheduled for full implementation until the end of 2021, the fact that the trial’s success was followed by a magnificent full rainbow arched over the city seemed a heaven-sent sign that a possible new flood-free era is dawning for Venice.
May you live in interesting times … A reflection by Catherine Kovesi
When Venice Champions went to the 2019 Biennale, few would have realised how prescient the year’s theme, May You Live in Interesting Times, would prove to be. Venice displayed its usual combination of stunning beauty and contingent fragility, but all seemed business as usual. Yet just over a month after our October group returned home, Venice was confronted with an ‘acqua granda’ – literally ‘giant water’. As waters of 187cm raged through the city for two hours and then just as suddenly subsided, many of the places we had all visited only a few weeks and months previously suffered heartbreaking damage.
Image caption: Andrà Tutto Bene (all will be well). Credit: Bridget Gleeson
Explore the project
Catherine Kovesi: How witlessly lucky we were…
Ingenuity, gilded beauty, and fragility might be the watchwords for Venice in these surreal, liminal, COVID days.
Plagued by mismanagement and scandal, no one in the city had quite believed the MOSE gates would ever be completed, let alone work. And yet on 3 October, a forecast acqua alta of 135cm was reduced to a mere 70cm and the city’s lowest point, the Piazza San Marco, stayed completely dry. Whilst the gates are not scheduled for full implementation until the end of 2021, the fact that the trial’s success was followed by a magnificent full rainbow arched over the city seemed a heaven-sent sign that a possible new flood-free era is dawning for Venice.
May you live in interesting times … A reflection by Catherine Kovesi
When Venice Champions went to the 2019 Biennale, few would have realised how prescient the year’s theme, May You Live in Interesting Times, would prove to be. Venice displayed its usual combination of stunning beauty and contingent fragility, but all seemed business as usual. Yet just over a month after our October group returned home, Venice was confronted with an ‘acqua granda’ – literally ‘giant water’. As waters of 187cm raged through the city for two hours and then just as suddenly subsided, many of the places we had all visited only a few weeks and months previously suffered heartbreaking damage.
Image caption: Andrà Tutto Bene (all will be well). Credit: Bridget Gleeson
Supporters' salutes
The generosity of individuals and organisations committed to showcasing contemporary Australian visual arts globally ensures the continued success of Australia at La Biennale di Venezia. Learn more about the generous 2019 supporters.