Imagine a place where delegates from 125 countries and an additional 47 non-national exhibits set up their exhibits for about 4 months every 2 years. Imagine a city where the only billboard advertising is for art and the visiting Guggenheim exhibit is happily promoted over the speakers in the supermarket. Imagine the only escape from all the beauty and art is sleep. Even when you leave the exhibits, the city of Venice, in all its ornate charm and historical forte compels you to the realization – this is a place where art is life.

I playfully refer to La Biennale as “the Art Olympics” because there really is no other analogy to make for the uninitiated. It is an international assembly of the world’s foremost artists sent by their home countries. One can walk in between exhibit and use Olympic vernacular such as, “The Italian representation was strong as always”…