2024-05-07T04:59:32-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/134108327/legal-limbo-continues-for-christoph-b-chel-s-venice-biennale-mosque Alexander Walter 2015-08-12T14:20:00-04:00 >2015-08-15T16:46:14-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/92/922c8f9222aba321b3c8f30fec45b936?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>A court in Venice has refused to fast-track a legal claim filed by the Icelandic Art Center (IAC) seeking the reopening of artist Christoph B&uuml;chel&rsquo;s mosque, which launched earlier this year in a disused church in Venice as part of the Biennale. The IAC is the commissioner of the controversial project, which was housed in the former Catholic church [...]. The mosque closed at the end of May after only two weeks when city officials claimed that it breached health and safety regulations.</p></em><br /><br /><p>Previously in the Archinect News:&nbsp;<a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/127799498/police-shut-down-mosque-installation-at-venice-biennale" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Police Shut Down Mosque Installation at Venice Biennale</a></p> https://archinect.com/news/article/127799498/police-shut-down-mosque-installation-at-venice-biennale Orhan Ayyüce 2015-05-22T17:21:00-04:00 >2022-03-16T09:16:08-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/wa/wafm2zfw8d3o5iva.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>The police in Venice closed an art installation in the form of a functioning mosque on Friday morning, after city officials declared the art project a security hazard and said that the artist who created it, Christoph B&uuml;chel, had not obtained proper permits and had violated laws by allowing too many people inside the mosque to worship.</p></em><br /><br /><p><em>"There is no mosque in Venice, so the thousands of M</em><em>uslim</em><em> tourists visiting Venice must pray in a converted factory in Mestre, which is the polluted part of Venice.</em></p><p><em>This until the swiss artist Buechler converted an abandoned and unused former catholic church into a functioning mosque for the duration of this&nbsp;</em><em>year's</em><em> Art Biennial.&nbsp;<br>Short lived though, Venice Municipal Authorities just yanked the permit.<br>Reason: Security and</em><em>Safety-it</em><em> </em><em>was</em><em> too</em><em> </em><em>popular, too</em><em> many people wanted to see it or pray in it.<br>As usual security trumps everything"</em></p><p>As quoted by a friend.</p>