To mark the end of its 25-week run yesterday, the Venice Biennale held a series of talks about — what else? — the Venice Biennale. The event's organizers also announced the winners of the online competitions for the best photograph, essay, and video about this year's exhibition. The photography competition, which is open to all accredited photographers, was a four-way tie between Richard Duebel, Giulia Iacolutti, Bertram Kober, and Monica Silva. No prize was awarded for a video this year, and the essay prize was conferred on Hendrik Pieter Jeroen Visser for his meditation on "The Importance of Being Artist."

Biennale president Paolo Baratta and "ILLUMInations" curator Bice Curiger (read our review of the show here) were joined by other art-world figures for three talks titled "Let's Talk About Us," meant to allow the participants "to put ourselves on the line... [and] discuss what has been done and what might be done in the future," Baratta said in a statement. The differences between curating for museums and for biennials were discussed by speakers including Germano Celant, Massimiliano Gioni, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Letizia Ragaglia, Diana Baldon, Giovanni Carmine, Okwui Enwezor, Beatrix Ruf, and Vincente Todoli. In a statement, Francesco Bonami, who organized the 50th Biennale in 2003, mused that "every director marries the Biennale but he is then forced to divorce, though being in love for the rest of their lives."

Over 440,000 visitors attended the Biennale this year, an increase of 18 percent from 2009. The Biennale also set a record for the number of countries participating: 89, compared to 77 in 2009. Andorra, Bangladesh, Haiti, and Saudi Arabia were represented for the first time, while seven other nations returned after a long absence: India, Congo, Iraq, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Costa Rica, and Cuba.

When the Biennale opened in June, Germany took home the Golden Lion for best national pavilion for its three-part display of the work of Christoph Schlingensief. The artist died of lung cancer in August 2010, and curator Susanne Gaensheimer completed the exhibition on her own. Honorable mention went to the Lithuanian pavilion for Darius Mikšys's "Behind the White Curtain." British artist Haroon Mirza received the Silver Lion for most promising young artist, with Berlin-based artist Klara Lidén awarded an honorable mention. The Golden Lion for best artwork in the main exhibition went to American artist Christian Marclay for his immensely popular video piece "The Clock." The Austrian artist Franz West and the Paris-based, American-born artist Elaine Sturtevant were honored with Golden Lions for lifetime achievement.