When in Venice: Biennale Dos And Don'ts

Peter Adams / Getty Images Society editor and Biennale veteran Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni on the parties to hop, pavilions to browse, and names to drop while at the 53rd Venice Biennale.

THE SCENE:

If you are attending the opening of Venice’s 53rd Biennale: Hit the ground running. Rush to the Palazzo delle Esposizioni for the central event: curator Daniel Birnbaum’s Making Worlds. Seek out Bruce Nauman, Steve McQueen, Miquel Barceló, and other artists representing their countries at the pavilions. For alternative fare: Stop in at Palazzo Fortuny for Axel Vervoordt’s In-finitum, check in to the Peggy Guggenheim Foundation for Robert Rauschenberg’s show and going further afield, head out to Isola San Giorgio Maggiore for the Prada Foundation’s retrospective of California pop artist John Wesley. But whatever the plans, don’t miss Punta della Dogana, the former customs house and second art venue of French luxury tycoon François Pinault (the first being Palazzo Grassi).

When asked if he was attending the Save Venice event, gallery owner Harley Baldwin quipped, “having just paid my bill at the Gritti, I think they can save themselves!”

Mistrusted by certain natives—but then so was Napoleon!—Pinault has had Japanese architect Tadao Ando concrete bunker the interior, in order to hold his extensive collection. Naturally, it boasts all the right names from the art world: Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, the Chapman Brothers. And there’s also the electric charge of European powerhouse sweeping in for the intimate dinner after the opening. But being the back-biting art business, there are the naysayers—some have accused the 300 contemporary-work collection of being ill-advised on young artists and lacking Saatchi-like shocking pieces. In today’s climate, there’s nothing like bashing the billionaire! But let’s not forget the golden rule of the art world, “as long as Signor Pinault spends money, he’ll be taken seriously.”

Second rule being, “you snooze, you lose.” So throughout the three-day opening bonanza, put sleep on hold, make time for Giovanni Bellini’s Madonnas at the Accademia, nibble sushi at Naranzaria, share pizza at Il Refolo, sugar rush on cakes at Rosa Salva and, after midnight, be seen on the terraces of the Gritti, Bauer, and Monaco hotels.

Third rule: Look mean and lean in preparation of the art world’s most prestigious event (and sort of social bunfight on the OK Grand Canal). This year, Yoko Ono will receive a Golden Lion award—and the gala expects art divas Damien Hirst, Vanessa Beecroft, and Marc Newson will rub shoulders with Archduchess Francesca von Habsburg—Heini Thyssen’s daughter and outré art patron (let them eat Sachertorte!); European trustafarians Lapo Elkann, Pia Getty, in-demand royals David Linley, Pierre Casiraghi and his hottie-tottie sister Charlotte Casiraghi, with gallery owner boyfriend Alex Dellal, in tow. (Venice is a place for name-dropping, so learn these well.)

Meanwhile, be aware that Daniel Birnbaum, the Biennale’s 46-year-old curator, defines popular and will be the belle of the ball. “He doesn’t make everyone crazy,” says Marie Brandolini, Venetian grandee and glass designer. “The mood is good.” Far from behaving like a latter-day Doge and highlighting his organizational skills over the tremendous talent (occasionally the case with his predecessors), the Swedish-born Birnbaum is being praised for taking a respectful distance. “He wants a biennale with art at 360°,” says Giovanna Cipriani, the political journalist and member of the restaurant dynasty who also stresses that he and the Biennale President Paolo Baratta are clearly hoping for “a big public” having “spent 9 million.”