GIONI, Massimiliano
High Waters: An Oral History of The Venice Biennale

This anthology of interviews conducted by curator Massimiliano Gioni proposes a 33-year journey, from 1993 to 2026, recounting the various approaches, visions, and challenges faced by the curators of the [good old] Venice Biennale, 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.

[publishers’ note]

Published by JRP / Les Presses du Réel, 2026
Conversations / Curatorial Studies / Art History