Details of the Venice Biennale 2024 have already started to be announced. The 60th edition of the most prestigious and oldest-running art biennial will open on 20 April 2024 (until 24 November). To help you keep on top of the latest pavilion news, we have brought together all the participating artists and organisers announced so far.
• Venice Biennale: 60th International Art Exhibition, Giardini, Arsenale and various venues around Venice, 20 April-24 November 2024
Austria
Artist: Anna Jermolaewa
Organisers: Gabriele Spindler; Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport
Where: Giardini
The Russia-born Vienna-based artist, who works mainly in lens-based media and installation, will be presenting new work based on different expressions of non-violent resistance. Previous artworks include an installation about famous carrier pigeons and hiring impersonators of Russian leaders—Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev, and Putin—and filming them in public spaces for The Doubles (2021).
Kapwani Kiwanga © Bertille Chéret 2016
Canada
Artist: Kapwani Kiwanga
Organisers: Gaëtane Verna; National Gallery of Canada
Where: Giardini
The Paris-based Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga’s work often tackles forgotten histories using a wealth of different media. The artist, who studied anthropology and comparative religion, “is interested in the role of art as a catalyst for revealing and addressing alternative and often silenced, marginalised socio-political narratives that are part of our shared histories,” according to the pavilion’s curator Gaëtane Verna.
Edith Karlson Photo: Marii Kiisk/Müürileht
Estonia
Artist: Edith Karlson
Organisers: Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art
The Tallinn-based sculptor Edith Karlson will create an immersive installation for the Estonian pavilion. The artist’s “evocative installations take the audience on an epic journey, through history, moods and myths,” says the curator Geir Haraldseth, who was part of the international selection committee for the pavilion. “Karlson’s belief in the power of art, and in particular sculpture, to affect us all, is sorely needed today.”
Julien Cruezet Courtesy of BMW Group
France
Artist: Julien Creuzet
Organisers: Institut Français, French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, and the French Ministry of Culture
Where: Giardini
The French artist Julien Creuzet grew up on the French-Caribbean island of Martinique and his “singular work and his gift for oral literature are informed by creolisation, bringing together a diversity of materials, stories, forms and gestures,” says the selection committee who voted unanimously for him to represent France. Recent exhibitions include Luma Arles and Camden Art Centre in London.
John Akomfrah
Great Britain
Artist: John Akomfrah
Organisers: British Council
Where: Giardini
At the 2022 Biennale, Sonia Boyce’s presentation in the British pavilion won the Golden Lion prize for best national participation, so the pressure will be on for the film-maker John Akomfrah, representing the UK in 2024. The British-Ghanaian artist is best known for his searing video installations exploring issues such as climate change and post-colonialism. He says in a statement: “I’m grateful to be given a moment to explore the complex history and significance of this institution [the British Pavilion] and the nation it represents, as well as its architectural home in Venice, with all the stories it has told and will continue to.”
Pakui Hardware Photo: Laura Schaeffer
Lithuania
Artists: Pakui Hardware (Neringa Cerniauskaite and Ugnius Gelguda) and Marija Teresė Rožanskaitė
Organisers: Valentinas Klimasauskas and Joao Laia; Lithuanian National Museum of Art, Lithuanian Council for Culture
The artist duo Pakui Hardware are planning an immersive installation for the Lithuania pavilion, which will feature paintings by the late Surrealist artist Marija Teresė Rožanskaitė. According to a press statement, the “exhibition will explore the inflammation of (post)human bodies under the current economic and social conditions.”
Guerreiro do Divino Amor © Diego Paulino
Switzerland
Artist: Guerreiro do Divino Amor
Organisers: Andrea Bellini,; Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
Where: Giardini
The Swiss-Brazilian artist Guerreiro do Divino Amor (whose name translates from Portuguese as warrior of divine love) will be creating an exhibition titled Super Superior Civilizations, which will explore nationalism and political mythologies. It will be the latest instalment in the artist’s long running project Superfictional World Atlas, which he began in 2005.