The Venice Biennale has been a prestigious forum for avant-garde art since its 1895 inception. Founded as a visual-art exhibition, the multidisciplinary celebration features annual festivals for dance, music, and theater, as well as biannual festivals for art (in odd-numbered years) and architecture (in even years).

The Biennale includes the annual Venice International Film Festival, one of the most distinguished cinema events since its 1932 debut and the first movie festival of its kind. One of the highlights this year will be the world premiere of Gus Van Sant’s Milk, starring Sean Penn, about slain San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk.

Coming this September 14 and running through November 23 is the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, titled “Out There: Architecture Beyond Building.” The curator for the event is Aaron Betsky, who headed up the Netherlands Architecture Institute for six years before being named director of the Cincinnati Art Museum, where he’s shaking things up with innovative exhibits featuring everything from exotic automobiles to exquisite handcrafted quilts.

For the 6th International Festival of Contemporary Dance, program director Ismael Ivo will conclude his four-year cycle in June with a series that contemplates the connection between beauty and art. Internationally acclaimed for his contributions to modern dance and choreography, Ivo has been an artistic director at the Vienna International Dance Festival for more than two decades.

Finally, the 52nd International Festival of Contemporary Music (program to be announced later this year) will take place in October in the beautiful Castello district (Venice’s “fish tail”). The event showcases contemporary innovations in music, and the Biennale has commissioned several works that will premiere at the festival.

To see updates to each festival’s lineup, visit labiennale.org.

— Robyn Showers

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