This year's theme, "Il Papazzo Enciclopedia -- The Encyclopedic Palace" aims to provide a space for an imaginary museum that collects the 'world's knowledge.'
A first-time participant in the Biennale is the Maldives, whose Pavilion is co-curated by Alfredo Cramerotti, also a curator for APT. The Maldives pavilion's theme is “Portable Nation” - implying the islands' uncertain future as sea levels rise threatening to flood the small island nation by 2080. Artists, including Iraqi-Palestinian multi-media artist Sama Alshaibi, show their take on this impeding ecological adversity. Alshaibi will display a video installation focusing on her journey from the waterless deserts of the Middle East to the flourishing paradise of the Maldives. Her installation expresses a story of continuity within the context of a threatened future and a link between the historical Islamic world and nomadic traditions of the region.
