The appointment of Robert Storr (Dean of the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, since 2006) as the artistic director of the 52nd international art exhibition of 2007 was announced already during the preparations of the last Venice Biennale (2005). As one of his first official acts in this function, he chaired the symposium about biennials "Where art worlds meet: multiple modernities and the global salon", organized by the Venice Biennial from 9 - 12 December, 2005.

The 2007 Venice Biennial's Central International Exhibition curated by Storr has the title: "Think with the Senses - Feel with the Mind. Art in the Present Tense". Works by about 100 artists and groups were shown at the Arsenale and the Italian Pavilion in the Giardini, among them several site-specific installations. The show of contemporary African art and the Pavilion of Turkey, both in the Arsenale as well, are considered by Storr as an integral part of his curatorial project.

The number of national and regional pavilions and presentations has increased up to 77, a figure as high as never before. In addition, a hardly manageable amount of parallel art projects took place again throughout the whole city.

Corresponding to the concept of our website, we focused our Special about the 52nd Venice Biennial - like in the 3 previous editions - first and foremost on the presence of art from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

(Pat Binder & Gerhard Haupt, Universes in Universe, 2005)

Statement by Robert Storr

Title: Globalization... Please Slow Down. Artists: Amrit Chusuwan, Nipan Oranniwesna. Commissioner: Apinan Poshyananda. Curator: Apisak Sonjod. Venue: Santa Croce 556, Fondamenta San Simeòn Píccolo.