Hasta La Ideas

Artists John Baldessari and Yoko Ono will receive Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement tomorrow at the opening ceremony of the Venice Biennale. The awards are presented by the President and the Board of the Venice Biennale Foundation based upon the suggestion of Daniel Birnbaum, the director of the 53rd International Art Exhibition. The award winners will also be featured in events over the weekend: tomorrow afternoon, Baldessari will sit down for a chat with Birnbaum and Steven Henry Madoff at the Arsenale and Ono will perform there on Sunday, followed by a conversation with David Ross. Meanwhile, the other Golden Lion Awards—for Best National Participation and Best Artist of the “Making Worlds” exhibition—and the Silver Lion for a Promising Young Artist of the exhibition will be selected by an international jury comprised of Angela Vettese (jury chair), Jack Bankowsky, Homi K. Bhabha, Sarat Maharaj, and Julia Voss.