The Venice Biennale has been postponed to 2020, despite previously pushing back the opening date from May 23 to August 29 this year. Instead, the time period will be granted to the 17th International Architecture Exhibition “How Will We Live Together?” which was originally scheduled to launch this month.

Cecilia Alemani, the curator of the High Line in New York and artistic director of the next Venice Biennale, stated: “In the past few weeks it has become apparent that holding the Architecture Biennale this year would have dramatically compromised the event, leaving countless of nations without the representations of their pavilions and preventing hundreds of architects and thousands of viewers to participate in the exhibition. I look forward to having more time with the artists to develop ambitious new projects.”

This means the dates for 2022 Biennale will run from April 23 to November 27, 2022,  coinciding with another prominent art exhibition, Germany’s documenta, which takes place every five years. Alemani added that the Venetian art fair “will open two days before the day in which Italy traditionally celebrates the end of World War II: I hope that the occasion will mark a new celebration of togetherness, a new sense of participation and communion that we are all very much looking forward to.”