Though it looked like Venice Biennale president Paolo Baratta would soon be out of a job, back in October, the shifting political climate in Italy has brought good fortune to the former banker, who will be reappointed to the post he has held twice, from 1998 to 2000 and from 2007 to the present.
Back in October, it appeared that an associate of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi would be appointed to take the position, when Mr. Baratta’s term expired, but Mr. Berlusconi’s recent downfall opened the way for the new minister of culture, Lorenzo Ornaghi, to send Mr. Baratta, back to the main office. Mr. Ornaghi made the announcement to the Italian parliament yesterday.
Mr. Baratta also got some more good news late last month when the it was announced that 444,000 people came to this year’s biennial, an 18 percent increase over 2009. A total of 4,500 journalists were also accredited, 20 percent more than the 2009 edition. So arts journalism is doing just fine.
