The official program includes 23 events in total, while myriad other exhibitions have been organised independently by private galleries and venues.
Glass masterpieces by architect, sculptor and designer Gaetano Pesce are on display at the local museum on the island of Murano, famous for its glassware.
Meanwhile, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, work by Arte Povera artist Michelangelo Pistoletto can be admired, along with an exhibition in tribute to fellow group member, the late Alighiero Boetti.
Back in the city centre, Palazzo Fortuny is housing an array of old and new in the exhibition 'Intuition', born out of the collaboration between the Foundation of the Venetian Civic Museums and the Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation.
Within the palace walls, Neolithic stones stand alongside work by Swiss-German artist Paul Klee and British sculptor Anish Kapoor.
Fondazione Prada is presenting a multimedia project produced by four German masters: writer and director Alexander Kluge, artist Thomas Demand, set and costume designer Anna Viebrock and curator Udo Kittelmann.
Meanwhile, French multimedia artist Pierre Huyghe is showcasing his work in the Espace Louis Vuitton, while internationally renowned Damien Hirst is on display in two spaces belonging to the François Pinault Foundation.
Other must-sees include an exhibition dedicated to Jan Fabre, a Mark Tobey show at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and an exhibition devoted to luxury craftsmanship at the Venice Pavilion.
The highlight event, of course, is Viva Arte Viva, featuring work by 120 artists from across the globe.
Curated by Christine Macel, the jaw-dropping collection is inspired by a new form of humanism in which the artistic act is seen as one of “resistance, of liberation and of generosity”.
Most of the artists on show this year are exhibiting in the Venice Biennale for the first time.
