Fiona Pardington presents Taharaki Skyside

Fiona Pardington’s “Taharaki Skyside” is the Aotearoa New Zealand presentation at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, according to La Biennale’s official national participations listing and the pavilion’s own site. The exhibition opened on May 9 and is installed at the Istituto Provinciale per l’Infanzia Santa Maria della Pietà di Venezia, on Riva degli Schiavoni in Castello. La Biennale lists Kent Gardner of Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa as commissioner, with Felicity Milburn and Chloe Cull as curators and Pardington as exhibitor. The New Zealand pavilion site says Creative New Zealand and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū are presenting the project. ### What is Pardington showing in Venice? La Biennale says Pardington presents 17 large-scale portraits of birds in the pavilion. (labiennale.org) The official description says the works continue her exploration of taxidermied native birds from museum collections in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. The Biennale description says the birds are treated as figures of “deep material and cultural significance” in the Māori world, and as ancestors and messengers between physical and spiritual realms. (labiennale.org) Venezianews, in its pavilion guide, similarly says the installation directs viewers’ gaze upward and centers birds with cultural and spiritual significance in Māori tradition. ### Why are birds central to this pavilion? (labiennale.org) NZ at Venice says “Taharaki Skyside” continues Pardington’s long-running work on memory, environment and belonging. The pavilion site says the new body of work links Aotearoa and Venice through a “shared horizon,” connecting two distant places through the exhibition’s framing. A pavilion news release published on the NZ at Venice site says the works depict “long-silent” manu, or birds, from Aotearoa, including endangered and extinct species. (labiennale.org) Another pavilion post says the exhibition marks New Zealand’s return to Venice after the absence of its national pavilion in 2024. ### Where exactly is the New Zealand pavilion? (nzatvenice.com) La Biennale’s national participations page gives the venue as Istituto Provinciale per l’Infanzia Santa Maria della Pietà di Venezia, Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello 3702. The Italian Biennale page lists the same site and says admission is free. Arte and pavilion listings place the show in central Venice, in the Santa Maria della Pietà complex along the waterfront route east of St. (nzatvenice.com) Mark’s area. For visitors following the Biennale’s official material, the New Zealand entry appears in the national participations section rather than in the Giardini’s permanent pavilion roster. ### Who is Fiona Pardington in this context? NZ at Venice identifies Pardington as Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, and Clan Cameron of Erracht, and describes her as an internationally known photographer. (labiennale.org) A pavilion release on the site says “Taharaki Skyside” was unveiled as Aotearoa New Zealand’s national pavilion presentation at the Biennale opening. (labiennale.org) The official Biennale page keeps the focus on the work itself, describing the bird portraits as “striking” and marked by “impossible beauty and aching loss.” That language is the Biennale’s characterization of the exhibition, not an independent critical assessment. ### How long is the exhibition open? Biennale and pavilion listings say “Taharaki Skyside” runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026. The Biennale’s Italian page lists opening hours as 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from May 9 to September 30, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from October 1 to November 22. (nzatvenice.com) The 61st International Art Exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” opened on Saturday, May 9, according to La Biennale’s homepage for the 2026 edition. (labiennale.org) That is the broader event in which Pardington’s pavilion is appearing. (labiennale.org 1) (labiennale.org 2)