‘This is the story of how an Italian immigrant arrived in a country seen by many of his peers as a wasteland and seized on an idea entirely of its time to help erase the distance between Australia and the world, the past and the future. And of how, from the very start, that idea proved so necessary, and inconvenient, that someone was usually trying to stop it or take it over, change its nature or its purpose.’

When the Biennale of Sydney was founded in 1973, it was one of only three such events in the world. It is now the longest-running biennale in the Asia-Pacific region, attracting over 600,000 visitors to each edition.

This history of its first fifty years chronicles the Biennale’s vision and ambition, stumbles and triumphs. It tells the story of half a century of ground-breaking art, and of the city that shaped – and has been shaped – by it.

Written by journalist Brook Turner, Turbulence and Transcendence features interviews with key players and new insights.

At over 400 pages, elegantly bound in Italian cloth and printed on premium paper in Italy, this is a limited edition of 500. RRP: $299 AUD.