"The Venice Biennale is an interdisciplinary Cultural Society concerned with visual arts, architecture, dance, music, theatre and cinema.

The Biennale organises exhibitions (the International Art Exhibition, the International Architecture Exhibition, and the Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, i.e. the Venice Film Festival) and live performances of Dance, Music and Theatre.

In 2002 the Biennale renewed its Board, presided over by Franco Bernab� and composed of Paolo Costa (Vice-President), Amerigo Restucci, Valerio Riva and Gaetano Salvemini.

Since the 1998 reform, the Biennale has aimed to re-launch itself not merely as a large exhibition centre, but also as a workshop for artistic education and production.

In recent years, important results have been achieved in all sectors of the organisation, both in its organisational restructuring and in the restoration and regeneration of historic and prestigious spaces in Venice for artistic and performance use.

New exhibition spaces (9,000 sqm.) have been created at the Arsenale (Artiglierie, Gaggiandre, Tese), alongside those at the Corderie and at the Giardini di Castello, thus creating an exceptional multi-form space (15,000 sqm.) for the Intl. Art Exhibition and the Intl. Architecture Exhibition. Following the inauguration of the Teatro Verde on the island of San Giorgio (1,300 open-air seats) in 1999, the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (330 seats) and the Teatro alle Tese (500 seats) opened in 2000: the latter is a vast place and is ideal for putting on events and performances.

For the Film Festival on the Venice Lido, alongside the historical Palazzo del Cinema, the Sala Perla (580 seats) was restructured and enlarged in 1999, the PalaBNL seating was increased to 1,700, and the spaces reserved for journalists and professionals from the film world at the Casino were increased in 2000 and 2001.

A permanent activity Sector, the Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts (ASAC) documents all of the Biennale's work, as well as the arts in the 20th century. A special project has been recently implemented for the digital re-cataloguing of the material to make it universally accessible."

www.labiennale.org