biennale · noun — A biennial celebration or exhibition.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Why “biennale” is a great word
A large-scale international exhibition, especially of contemporary art, held every two years. From the Italian biennale ('biennial, lasting two years'), from the Latin biennium ('a two-year period'), from bis ('twice') + annus ('year'). Unlike a 'triennale,' which calibrates its global rhythm to a three-year cycle, or a generic 'annual exhibition,' which can lack the curated weight and international prestige, a biennale is a deliberate, gathering pause. It is the temporary city of pavilions rising in a public garden, the curated tension of national identities in adjacent halls, and the specific hush of a crowd before an installation that may not be seen again for another twenty-four months—a solemn, recurring festival for an age that produces art faster than it can be understood.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Italian biennale.
noun
- A biennial celebration or exhibitione.g.“In Venice for the 2005 biennale with the architect David Adjaye and the artist Olafur Eliasson. 6.” — 2007 February 25, William Shaw, “We Are Not a Muse”, in New York Times:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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