Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale (; ; in English also called the "Venice Biennial") is an arts organisation based in Venice, and also the original and principal exhibition it organises. The organisation changed its name to the Biennale Foundation in 2009, while the exhibition is also called the Art Biennale to distinguish it from the organisation and other exhibitions it organises. The Art Biennale, a contemporary visual art exhibition, is so called as it is held biennially, in odd-numbered years; is the original biennale on which others elsewhere in the world are modelled. The Biennale Foundation has a continuous existence supporting the arts, as well as organising the following separate events:

On April 19, 1893 the Venetian City Council passed a resolution to set up an biennial exhibition of Italian Art ("Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale") to celebrate the silver anniversary of King Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy.