Steve McQueen: Giardini

Born in London in 1969, McQueen works predominantly in film and video, and is one of the most influential artists of his generation.

He has won a number of awards and accolades, including the first ICA Futures Award in 1996, the Turner Prize in 1999 and an OBE in 2002. His work is represented in museum collections throughout the world, including the Guggenheim, MOCA Los Angeles, Tate, and the Centre Pompidou, and he has shown widely in major group and solo exhibitions, including Documenta X and XI; the 50th and 52nd Venice Biennales; Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville deParis; Museu Serralves, Oporto; Fondazione Prada, Milan; Baltic, Gateshead; and the Renaissance Society, Chicago.

Steve McQueen is represented by Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris and Thomas Dane Gallery in London. He lives and works in Amsterdam and London.

The film Giardini has been produced with funding from Marian Goodman Gallery, Outset Contemporary Art Fund, The Art Fund charity, London, in collaboration with Thomas Dane Gallery and with assistance from the British Council.

For high‐resolution downloadable stills of Steve McQueen’s Giardini, please go to:

www.britishcouncil‐venice.org

For more information, interviews with Steve McQueen or images, please contact:

Calum Sutton or Philip Abraham, Calum Sutton PR: +44 (0) 20 7813 3577 / info@suttonpr.com

For press enquiries relating to the British Council, please contact:

Eleanor Hutchins, British Council: +44 (0) 20 7389 4981 / eleanor.hutchins@britishcouncil.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

STEVE McQUEEN Giardini

Address: British Pavilion, Giardini di Castello 30122 Dates: 7 June – 22 November 2009

Opening Times: 10am – 6pm Tuesday to Sunday. Closed Mondays. Vaporetto: Giardini

The British Pavilion is managed by Visual Arts, British Council

Commissioner: Andrea Rose

Curator: Richard Riley

Film Producer: Pinky Ghundale for Philbert Ltd

Service Company in Venice: CRG International

With thanks to Cani Attori and European Greyhound Network, and for the cooperation of the Venice Film Commission

• The British Council works in over 100 countries worldwide to build intercultural understanding between the UK and other

countries through the arts, education and training, science and technology, sport, good governance and human rights. Its income in

2006/07 was £551m, of which grant‐in‐aid from the British government was £195m. For more information, please visit:

www.britishcouncil.org

• The British Council works with an advisory committee of leading arts professionals across the UK which advises on the artist

selection for the Venice Biennale every two years. This is to ensure that the selection process is transparent and broadly based. The

advisory committee met on 19 June 2008. For further information please visit www.britishcouncil.org/venicebiennale

• Members of the Venice Biennale Selection Committee, 2009:

o Martin Barlow, Director, Oriel Mostyn, Llandudno

o Katrina Brown, Director, The Common Guild, Glasgow

o Penelope Curtis, Curator, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds

o Stephen Deuchar, Director, Tate Britain

o Alex Farquharson, Director, Centre for Contemporary Art, Nottingham

o Jack Persekian, Director, Al Ma’mal Foundation, East Jerusalem

o Declan McGonagle, Chair in Art & Design & Director School of Art and Design, University of Ulster, Belfast

o Magdalene Odundo, Professor of Ceramics, University College of the Creative Arts, Farnham

o Richard Riley, Head of Exhibitions, Visual Arts, British Council

o Adrian Searle, Chief Critic, The Guardian

o Chair: Andrea Rose, Director of Visual Arts, British Council

• In 2009, the British Council celebrates its 75th Anniversary. It has commissioned artists to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale

to celebrate the best of emerging and established British artistic talent since 1938, including Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore,

Bridget Riley, Anish Kapoor, Mark Wallinger, Rachel Whiteread, Gilbert & George, and most recently Tracey Emin in 2007, amongst

many more.