What to look for at the world-famous art fair
This summer, all eyes will be on Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, but for the Olympics of the Arts, you’ll need to travel about 500 miles southeast. This year’s edition of the Venice Biennale opens on April 20, with 89 nations hosting pavilions and Brazil native Adriano Pedrosa making history as the festival’s first South American curator. Here are five highlights from the art fair, which runs through November 24.
Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere
More than 330 artists are participating in the 60th International Art Exhibition, Pedrosa’s landmark show at the Biennale’s Central Pavilion and the Venice Arsenale. The art fair’s centerpiece examines what it means to be a “foreigner”—be that as a refugee, outsider, émigré, immigrant, or expatriate—with an emphasis on Indigenous artists and contributors from the Global South.
Nigeria Imaginary
African nations are poised to be leaders at the 2024 Biennale, and one of the most exciting national pavilions belongs to Nigeria, at the Palazzo Canal in the Dorsoduro neighborhood. Nigeria Imaginary explores the complexities of nationhood through the work of eight multidisciplinary artists. “Above all, I am proud of the potential this exhibition has to challenge misconceptions,” says Aindrea Emelife, a curator at MOWAA (the Museum of West African Art) in Benin City, who is overseeing the show. “Together, it forms a manifesto for what Nigeria could have been—and still can be.”
Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me
A member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians who is of Cherokee descent, Jeffrey Gibson is the first Indigenous artist to represent the U.S. in a solo exhibition at the Biennale. His show, the title of which is a reference to Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier’s poem “Ȟ e Sápa,” includes sculptures, paintings, and a site-specific installation at the Giardini della Biennale.
Shifting Sands: A Battle Song
Artist Manal Al Dowayan is renowned for creating immersive works that dissect Saudi Arabia’s history, traditions, and collective memory. In particular, she has often examined the evolving role of women in Saudi society. While the topic of her show at the Saudi Arabian Pavilion (located at the Arsenale) had not been announced at press time, she held several collaborative workshops with Saudi women earlier this year in preparation for the exhibition.
Robert Indiana: The Sweet Mystery
During each Biennale, museums, palazzi, and galleries across the city host what are known as Collateral Events. In 2024, there are 30 official ones to choose from, including a special exhibition dedicated to the late American artist Robert Indiana, whose iconic LOVE series is adored around the globe. His works will be on display at the Piazza San Marco’s Procuratie Vecchie, a landmark building that recently underwent a complete renovation led by Pritzker Prize-winning architect David Chipperfield.
