Bringing Stories to Life: Audio Guides Transformation of the Contemporary Art Experience at La Biennale di Venezia Exhibition

The Start of a Collaboration

It all started with “Flying Trajectories” and “Inside Out.” Guide-ID worked closely with the PinchukArtCentre team to ensure that the stories behind the art could be heard by visitors from across Ukraine.

With one in every five visitors using a Podcatcher, it became clear that the audio guides helped facilitate a deeper connection between visitors and the artwork.

Fast-forward to the spring of 2024, when the PinchukArtCentre was preparing for a new exhibition in Venice as a collateral event of the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.

The exhibition, titled “From Ukraine: Dare to Dream,” brought together artists from around the world to address existential questions facing society, from climate change and war to political unrest and humanitarian crises.

Participating artists included Kateryna Aliinyk, Allora & Calzadilla, Alex Baczyński-Jenkins, Fatma Bucak, David Claerbout, Shilpa Gupta, Oleg Holosiy, Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Nikolay Karabinovych, Dana Kavelina, Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk, Lesia Khomenko, Yana Kononova, Kateryna Lysovenko, Otobong Nkanga, Wilfredo Prieto, Daniil Revkovskiy and Andriy Rachinskiy, Anton Saenko, Oleksiy Sai, Fedir Tetianych, and Anna Zvyagintseva.

Since opening in mid-April, “From Ukraine: Dare to Dream” has captivated more than 30,000 visitors.

The Exhibition

The exhibition featured a variety of art forms, from paintings to life-sized installations, posing challenging questions designed to encourage introspection.

The PinchukArtCentre team wanted the presentation to feel gentle and digestible, with the aim of helping visitors leave with a deeper sense of connection to humanity despite the global challenges explored throughout the exhibition.

Recognising the power of the Podcatcher, the team decided that an audio guide was essential for conveying the artists’ stories. The goal was to create an immersive and distraction-free experience that allowed the artists to explain their work in their own words.

Guide-ID was thrilled to collaborate with the PinchukArtCentre team on this project. Our mission is to share untold stories, and this exhibition aligned perfectly with our values.

The Podcatcher allows museums to upload the content they want visitors to hear directly through the device. For “From Ukraine: Dare to Dream,” the PinchukArtCentre team invited the artists to write and narrate their own stories, giving visitors a deeper understanding of the work through the artists’ voices.

Visitors left the exhibition feeling that listening to these stories had enriched their experience and enabled a more immersive engagement with the art.

Although the audience at La Biennale di Venezia differed from that of the PinchukArtCentre in Ukraine, the feedback was equally positive.

The Challenge

Of course, the project also presented challenges. The exhibition was held in the historic Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Venice, where strict guidelines prevented anything other than the artwork from being placed on the walls.

Typically, a Beacon Lite device is mounted on a wall to trigger the Podcatcher. With Guide-ID’s support, the PinchukArtCentre team developed innovative alternatives that allowed the Podcatcher system to work seamlessly without compromising the historical integrity of the building.

Olha Shyshlova, Head of Programs at the PinchukArtCentre

“Guide-ID’s support has been essential to the success of this exhibition. Their assistance helped us navigate the unique challenges of setting up in a historical building and ensured that we could deliver a seamless audio guide experience to our visitors. Their technical support and proactive approach significantly enhanced our ability to provide an engaging exhibition experience.”