Closing of «The Concert» features unique sound performances

The Swiss Pavilion exhibition at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, titled «The Concert» and conceived by Latifa Echakhch, in collaboration with Francesco Stocchi and Alexandre Babel, will come to a festive ending with the launch of the project’s record during the finissage weekend of Biennale Arte 2022.

Titled «The Concert», the record which complements the exhibition is co-signed by Latifa Echakhch and Alexandre Babel and published by Shelter Press. For its launch, the Swiss Pavilion invites visitors to a series of exceptional sound performances scheduled to take place in Venice between 25 and 27 November 2022. 

The launch of the record will take place at the Swiss Pavilion at Giardini della Biennale di Venezia, on Saturday, 26 November, with the presence of Félicia Atkinson and Bartolomé Sanson from Shelter Press, while prominent figures from the contemporary music scene will perform at Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi and COSMO Performance Space on Giudecca Island during the finissage weekend. Each has uniquely contributed to the genesis of «The Concert» and the sound performances evoke a further question: do they resound in the Swiss Pavilion or instead emerge from its charred forms and shadows?

Although over the past seven months, sound has been absent from «The Concert» at the Swiss Pavilion, the finissage weekend is all about sound, acoustics, electric and electronic – with six concerts at three venues. While the composition «The Concert» by Latifa Echakhch and Alexandre Babel emerges from the absence of sound, it is also formed from memories and echoes, mirroring Echakhch’s installation at the pavilion without directly referencing it.

Guest artists include the authors of the catalogue Alvin Curran, François J. Bonnet aka Kassel Jaeger, artistic dialogue partners Stephen O’Malley, Kali Malone and Félicia Atkinson, co-founder of Shelter Press and publisher of the record «The Concert». The instrumental ensemble involved in the recording will also perform a chamber music concert at Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi. 

Latifa Echakhch conceived the Swiss Pavilion exhibition at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia at the invitation of Pro Helvetia. The exhibition, titled «The Concert», was realised in collaboration with the curator Francesco Stocchi and the percussionist Alexandre Babel. Together, the trio created a rhythmic experience full of visual, spatial and sonic influence. 

The Swiss Pavilion exhibition closes its doors on Sunday, 27 November 2022. Since its opening at the end of April 2022, over 500,000 Biennale visitors have experienced «The Concert» in the Swiss Pavilion. 

Switzerland has been participating in the International Art Exhibition since 1920 and the International Architecture Exhibition since 1991. It maintains its own pavilion in Venice’s «Giardini publici», the Biennale Park. Pro Helvetia has been responsible for the Swiss Pavilion since 2012. Two juries appointed by Pro Helvetia recommend a nomination for the Swiss contribution to the Art and the Architecture Biennale, respectively.