Could you name 5 artists who have shown at New Zealand’s National Pavilions in the Venice Biennale or recollect the year that New Zealand first had a National Pavilion?
Do you know when the Venice Biennale first started or how many people are expected to visit this year? Teachers from the lower north island answered these and other questions about the Biennale in a 5 minute quiz at the Twilight Art Talk I gave on Thursday. The winning quiz team are now proud owners of Bill Culbert tote bags from his exhibition Front Door Out Back in this years Venice Biennale. (See answers below!)
By showing some of the hundreds of photographs I took in Venice when I was there last month I took teachers attending the talk on a virtual tour of Bill Culbert’s exhibition. My trip to Venice was organised as part of a partnership between Te Papa and Creative New Zealand to develop an education programme for Bill Culbert’s work.
As well as sharing insights into Bill Culbert’s exhibition I showed a selection of other artists work giving teachers an overview of the immense scale of the Biennale and the wide range of art practice on display there this year.
This talk was the first part of the education programme I am developing for Bill’s exhibition. Now I’m busy writing two teaching resources (one for primary teachers and one for secondary teachers) about aspects of Bills practice. These will be available on Te Papa and CNZ’s websites in term 4 this year.
If you are a primary teacher looking for new art activity ideas, join me at Te Papa in a hands-on workshop on October 23rd 9.15am-3.30pm. Inspired by Bill’s fascination with light this workshop will give teachers ways of investigating light from different perspectives including art and science.
(Quiz Answers: Artists who have exhibited in New Zealand National Pavilions at the Venice Biennale are Peter Robinson, Jaqueline Frazer, Michael Stevensen, Et al, Judy Millar, Francis Uprichard, Michael Parekowhai, and Bill Culbert. New Zealand first had a National Pavilion in 2001. The Venice Biennale began in 1895 and 300,000 people are expected to visit this year.)
Can you answer this bonus quiz question? Which high school did Bill Culbert attend?