The Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

This book examines the various figures and interests involved in the design and construction of the Canada Pavilion and explores how it was used over the past sixty years to exhibit the work of Canadian artists and architects. This publication intends not only to underline the pavilion’s importance in the broader context of modern architecture, but also to highlight its role as an early example of cultural diplomacy. The book is fully endowed with archive material, such as photographs, drawings, and maps, along with a portfolio created by contemporary photographers (Francesco Barasciutti and Andrea Pertoldeo), showing the building before, during, and after the restoration. The essays of the various contributors to the book analyse the cultural and political context in which the Canada Pavilion committee worked (Cammie McAtee); the concept and construction of the building and the links with the architect Enrico Peressutti and the BBPR partnership (Réjean Legault); the pavilion’s role in the postwar Italian cultural context (Serena Maffioletti) and its fortunes from its inauguration in 1958 to the restoration in 2018 (Josée Drouin-Brisebois); the restoration project itself (Susanna Caccia Gherardine), and, lastly, the relationship between the Canada Pavilion and the Biennale Gardens (Franco Panzini).