High Waters – An Oral History of The Venice Biennale

Founded in 1895, the Venice Biennale is one of the most important and oldest international art exhibitions. Every two years, a selected curator is given the unique opportunity to prepare an exhibition that reflects their vision of the contemporary art of their times with artists from around the world, and that is visited by hundreds of thousands of art afficionados.
Massimiliano Gioni, Artistic Director of the New Museum, New York, who himself curated the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013, had the idea to interview the curators of the Venice Biennale long before he created his own, after having seen his first, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva, in 1993. 
What moves Gioni is his dedication to understanding the ins and outs of how one goes about tackling such an extraordinary task: "One should keep in mind that the Biennale—like any exhibition—is a complex creature with heads and limbs sprouting in every direction. The most visible manifestations of this strange organism are the artists and the artworks, which inspire, transform, and expand the narrative frameworks conceived by the curators. Then comes a horde of other figures: designers, architects, lighting experts, manual workers, painters, and transporters … the Biennale staff, who arrange the shipment of masterpieces from the four corners of the globe, renovate buildings, produce performances, oversee maintenance for the Giardini, and the president, who chooses and appoints the curators, and there is the general director, the directors of each sector, and so on. The Biennale is made by everyone and belongs to everyone, not just the curators."
This anthology of interviews conducted by Gioni proposes a 33-year journey, from 1993 to 2026, recounting the various approaches, visions, and challenges faced by the curators through anecdotes and memories of their experiences: Achille Bonito Oliva, Jean Clair, Harald Szeemann, Francesco Bonami, Rosa Martínez, María de Corral, Robert Storr, Daniel Birnbaum, Bice Curiger, Okwui Enwezor, Christine Macel, Ralph Rugoff, Cecilia Alemani, and Adriano Pedrosa. The volume also includes an interview with Massimiliano Gioni by Robert Storr, and one with members of the 2026 Venice Biennale curatorial team who have achieved Koyo Kouoh's vision after her untimely passing in 2025.
Providing a comprehensive overview on how to curate a biennale, and the thinking that goes on behind it, this book of collected interviews also offers a precious overview of the evolution of contemporary art and the conversation around it through the last three decades—its stakes, its steadily increasing globalization, its successive focus.