Since 1958, renowned Canadian contemporary artists and architects—from James Wilson Morrice to Ulysse Comtois, Guido Molinari, Jean Paul Riopelle, Geneviève Cadieux, David Altmejd, BGL, Geoffrey Farmer, and Isuma—have had a space to shine in the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Designed and built by Milan’s famous Studio BBPR in the heart of the Giardini, Venice’s celebrated gardens, this architectural gem inspired by Archimedes’ Spiral wraps around two trees, has ample window openings, and features roof beams that echo the great shipyards of the Serene Republic. In 2017 and 2018, in time for its 60th anniversary, the building and its surrounding gardens underwent a major restoration, supervised by the National Gallery of Canada and its Foundation. Filmmaker Katerine Giguère has crafted an intimate portrait of the pavilion, which has become emblematic of the bold vision of Canadian creators. She invites viewers to explore the building’s history, architecture and gardens. A tribute bathed in the light of the open sky.
Director
Katerine Giguère
Editor
Annie Leclair
Music
Pierre-Philippe Côté et Steven Doman
Director of Photography
Katerine Giguère
Direction and Content Consultant
Annie Leclair
History, Archives and Iconography Consultant
Réjean Legault
Additional Camera
Jean-Marc Abela
Sound Recordists
Sylvain Vary
Olivier Léger
Louis Frederic Edwards
Lisa Kolisnyk
Marco Fiumara
Material from documentaries on the exhibition
Canada Builds/Rebuilds a Pavilion in Venice
Producteur : Denis McCready
With the participation of
Paolo Baratta, Alberico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, Simon Brault, Emanuela Carpani, Karen Colby-Stothart, Josée Drouin-Brisebois, Anne Eschapasse, Réjean Legault, Marc Mayer, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander et Sasha Suda
Special thanks to
Francine Allaire, Tamara Andruszkiewicz, Serge Belet, Karen Colby-Stothart, Julien Duchêne, Anne Eschapasse, Constance Legault, Cammie McAtee, Geoffrey Mitchell, Marie-Claude Mongeon, Préposés au pavillon du Canada à la 16e Biennale de Venise en architecture, 2018
Production Assistants
Tamara Anna Andruszkiewicz
Amélie Lambert Bouchard
Sergio Dalla Lana
Online Editor
Yannick Carrier
Editing Technicians
Patrick Trahan
Pierre Dupont
Isabelle Painchaud
Music Recording and Mixing
Studio le nid
Sound Editing
Daniel Toussaint
Sound Mixing
Isabelle Lussier
Colour Calibration
Yannick Carrier
Graphic Design
Mélanie Bouchard
Jacques Bertrand Simard
Translation and Subtitling
France Gladu
Gervaise Delmas
George Kaltsounakis
SETTE
Visual Research and Copyright Clearance
Claire Bourbonnais
Venice Biennales/Photo Archives
XXIX Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1958
James Wilson Morrice
Anne Kahane
Jack Nichols
Jacques de Tonnancour
XXXI Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1962
Jean Paul Riopelle
XXXIII Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1966
Courtesy of The Estate of Sorel Etrog
Yves Gaucher
XXXIV Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1968
Guido Molinari
Ulysse Comtois
XXXV Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1970
Michael Snow
XLII Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1986
Melvin Charney
XLIV Biennale Arte di Venezia, 1990
Geneviève Cadieux
VIII Biennale Architettura, 2002
Michael Awad, Eve Egoyan, David Rokeby
LII Biennale Arte di Venezia, 2007
David Altmejd
XII Biennale Architettura, 2010
Philip Beesley
LIV Biennale Arte di Venezia, 2011
Steven Shearer
XIII Biennale Architettura, 2012
5468796 Architecture Inc.
LV Biennale Arte di Venezia, 2013
Shary Boyle
XIV Biennale Architettura, 2014
Lateral Office
LVI Biennale Arte di Venezia, 2015
BGL
LVII Biennale Arte di Venezia, 2017
Geoffrey Farmer
LVIII Biennale Arte di Venezia, 2019
One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk
©Isuma
Archival Sources
Archivio Arte Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena
Archivio Belgiojoso
Art Resource
BBPR, Architects
BGL
Biennale di Venezia
Canada Council for the Arts
Comune di Venezia
Creative Commons
Enns Gauthier Landscape Architects
Fornitore Associazione Archivio Storico Olivetti
Galerie René Blouin
Library and Archives Canada
Library and Archives of the National Gallery of Canada
MAGNUM Photos
National Film Board of Canada
Ottawa Citizen
Princeton Archives
Rapid Grip & Batten Ltd.
Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Royal Institute of British Architects
Triennale Milano – Archivio Fotografico
Università Iuav di Venezia Archivio Progetti
Works represented by SOCAN
Fish series, circa 1945
Alexander Calder
© Calder Foundation, New York / SOCAN (2020)
Black Spruce Country, 1957
Jacques de Tonnancour
© Succession Jacques de Tonnancour / SOCAN (2020)
Pavane, 1954
Jean Paul Riopelle
© Succession Jean Paul Riopelle / SOCAN (2020)
Espace bleu-ocre, 1964
Espace orange-bleu, 1964
Bi-sériel orange-vert, 1967
Guido Molinari
© Succession Guido Molinari / SOCAN (2020)
A Construction in Venice, 1986
Melvin Charney
© Estate of Melvin Charney / SOCAN (2020)
Excerpts from audiovisual archives
BGL Canadassimo, 2015
Alexandre Berthier and Marie Fraser
Distribution Spira Films
City Out of Time, 1959
Colin Low
National Film Board of Canada
Photographs
Alexandre Georges
© Andrea Pertoldeo
© Andrew Latreille
Arthur James/Canadian Architect
Bryce Gauthier
Ellen Page Wilson
© Erich Hartmann/Magnum Photos
Francesco Barasciutti
Geneviève Cadieux
Giacomelli
Iacopo Seri photographer for Geoffrey Farmer Studio/ NGC
Jana Sterbak
Lisa Stinner-Kun
Melvin Charney
© Michael Awad
Michael Snow
Philip Beesley
Sebastiano Pellion di Persano
NFB Archives
Ragnhild Milewski
Lea Nakonechny
National Gallery of Canada Team
Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Outreach (2016-2020)
Anne Eschapasse
Senior Exhibitions Manager
Serge Belet
Executive Assistant, Exhibitions and Outreach
Marie-Claude Mongeon
Head of Library, Archives and Fellowship Program
Cyndie Campbell
Executive Director, National Gallery of Canada Foundation (2013-2019)
Karen Colby-Stothart
National Film Board Team
Administrator
Isabelle Limoges
Production Coordinator
Marcia Seebaran
Technical Coordinator
Daniel Lord
Executive Producer and Producer
André Picard
Consultant Producer
Katerine Giguère
Institutional Program
Executive Director
André Picard
A National Film Board of Canada Production
In partnership with the National Gallery of Canada
and the National Gallery of Canada Foundation
© 2020 NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA