Head of Tourism Development Agency appointed Commissioner of Ukrainian pavilion at Venice Architecture Biennale 2023

KYIV. March 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The commissioner of the Ukrainian pavilion at the international exhibition Biennale Architettura 2023: The Laboratory Of The Future, which will be held from May 20 to November 26, 2023, appointed head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine Maryana Oleskiv, the press service of the Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine said in response to a request from Interfax-Ukraine.

“Taking into account the importance of representing Ukraine at international events and the need for effective negotiations with the organizers of the exhibition for Ukraine’s participation this year and a high-quality presentation in the future, the Ministry appointed the head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine Maryana Oleskiv as the commissioner of the Ukrainian pavilion at the exhibition of Contemporary Art of the 18th Venice Biennale 2023,” the ministry’s press service quoted Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Restoration Serhiy Derkach as saying.

The Venice Biennale (La Biennale di Venezia) is one of the leading exhibitions, where every even years there is an art exhibition, in odd years – an architectural one. According to its rules, the competent governmental body of the participating country appoints a commissioner belonging to the relevant authority or an authorized state institution representing the country.

As a direct representative of the country’s authorities, the Commissioner guarantees transparency of the organizational process, oversees the project of national participation and is responsible for the exhibition in the country’s pavilion in accordance with the requirements of the event and for compliance with cultural and organizational standards.

Ukraine is regularly represented at the Venice Art Biennale, and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy is responsible for procedural issues. However, as stated in the response of the Ministry of Reconstruction, at the architectural biennale it was not presented with its own national product, which “in turn negatively affects the image of our country in the field of architecture.”

Last year, work was underway on the transfer of authority to form the project from the Ministry of Regional Development to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. At the request of the Interfax-Ukraine agency, the press service of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy replied that work had been carried out on the development of regulatory and legal draft acts, according to which the composition of the commission for the competitive selection of the curator/curatorial group was to be formed. In particular, a draft Procedure for the competitive selection of a curator/curatorial group for the presentation of a national architectural project at the International Architectural Exhibition – the Venice Biennale was developed and sent to the Ministry of Regional Development for approval at the end of last year. However, the authority to form a product for an international exhibition is reserved for the Ministry of Regional Development, which after the reorganization became part of the Ministry of Restoration, and in less than two months the commissioner of the pavilion was appointed.