The Federal Foreign Office is once again sponsoring the German Pavilion at the 53rd Biennale International Art Exhibition in Venice in 2009. Works by Liam Gillick entitled “The future always acts differently – Die Zukunft verhält sich immer anders” will be on display in the Pavilion from 7 June to 22 November.

Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier has again appointed Nicolaus Schafhausen, Director of the Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art in Rotterdam, curator of the official German contribution. Schafhausen already curated the 2007 German Pavilion, which featured an exhibition by the artist Isa Genzken.

The International Exhibition “La Biennale di Venezia”, which takes place every two years, is the most important international forum for contemporary visual arts. Germany traditionally makes a national contribution commissioned and largely cofinanced by the Federal Foreign Office. In this way, the Federal Foreign Office helps foster a lively arts scene and promotes international cultural exchange. The German Pavilion will be realized in cooperation with the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa). In addition to the Federal Foreign Office, Hugo Boss and AXA Insurance are also supporting the German contribution. Deutsche Welle TV, as the German Pavilion's media partner, will continue the cooperation it began in 2005.