Announcing total visitor numbers, Exhibition organisers confirmed more than 170,000 people attended the event from 26 August to 21 November - a 30 per cent increase on total attendees from the previous event in 2008.
Of total visitors, more than 93,000 experienced the “NOW and WHEN Australian Urbanism” exhibition at the Australian Pavilion– up 60 per cent from 58,079 visitors in 2008 and 140 per cent from 38,755 in 2006.
According to figures from the Australian Institute of Architects, organisers of three consecutive Venice Biennale exhibitions in the Australian Pavilion, 55 per cent of all visitors viewed the Australian Pavilion this year – up from 45 per cent of Biennale visitors in 2008 and 30 per cent in 2006. Australia was one of 53 countries represented at the Biennale, which also features 20 collateral events.
In a successful international promotion for Australia and Australian architecture, the NOW and WHEN Australian Urbanism exhibition generated solid ongoing media coverage, including 70 international and 38 domestic pieces published.
The exhibition featured stereoscopic, 3D images of some of Australia's most thought-provoking urban and non-urban regions by the nation’s pre-eminent architectural photographer and Co-Creative Director John Gollings, and 17 futuristic urban visions imagining 'WHEN' we reach 2050 and beyond overseen by Co-Creative Director Ivan Rijavec.
In line with strong interest from galleries in Australia and abroad in featuring the exhibition, the Institute is currently considering an international NOW and WHEN touring schedule, with dates and venues already confirmed in Sydney and the Gold Coast. A 204-page catalogue featuring stunning images of the exhibition and essays written by John Gollings, Ivan Riijavec, Craig Bremner and Daniel Flood, is now on sale through Architext bookshops.
