Curated and staged by Elmgreen & Dragset For the 53rd International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, the Danish and Nordic Pavilions will host 'The Collectors', a single exhibition curated and staged by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset. With contributions from twenty-four international artists and artist groups, Elmgreen & Dragset will transform the Danish and Nordic Pavilions into domestic environments where the audience is invited as guests. Dining rooms, bedrooms, furniture, fireplaces, a stained glass skylight and the artworks nestled within the households, will reveal the uncanny stories of fictional inhabitants, with their obsessive characters and diverse lifestyles. The public will be guided on a tour by a real estate agent through a "For Sale" Danish Pavilion, and will be told the story of the family dramas that used to haunt this house. The neighboring Nordic Pavilion has been turned into a flamboyant bachelor's pad. Here the audience will experience not only the collection of contemporary artworks and design from the mysterious Mr. B., but also his collection of ex-lovers' used swimwear. As the title 'The Collectors' indicates, the exhibition will approach the topic of collecting, and the psychology behind the practice of expressing oneself through physical objects. More than twenty artists and designers of all ages, ranging from established to emerging ones, will contribute to creating a different kind of exhibition format: One that will appear closer to a film set than a conventional art display. The curators aim to create a feeling of intimacy with their staged exhibition - one that counters the official spectacle and formal nature of the Biennale - and, in close collaboration with the participating artists and designers, they hope to circumvent the usual competitive aspects of the larger art event. The artists and designers included in the exhibition are: Thora Dolven Balke, Massimo Bartolini, Hernan Bas, Guillaume Bijl, Maurizio Cattelan, Elmgreen & Dragset, Pepe Espaliú, Tom of Finland, Simon Fujiwara, Han & Him, Laura Horelli, Martin Jacobson, William E. Jones, Terence Koh, Jani Leinonen, Klara Lidén, Jonathan Monk, Nico Muhly, Norway Says, Henrik Olesen, Nina Saunders, Vibeke Slyngstad, Sturtevant and Wolfgang Tillmans.