The President of La Biennale di Venezia, Roberto Cicutto, and the curator of the 60th International Art Exhibition, Adriano Pedrosa, have unveiled the theme for the upcoming Biennale Arte 2024. Entitled “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere”, the event will run from April 20 to November 24, 2024, (pre-opening on April 17, 18 and 19) celebrating art from a multitude of cultures and identities.
The concept for the exhibition is derived from the eponymous art series started in 2004 by the Paris-born and Palermo-based collective Claire Fontaine. The phrase traces back to a Turin collective known for their fight against racism and xenophobia in early 2000 Italy. The theme takes inspiration from the multifaceted issues surrounding the global movement of people and challenges tied to language, translation, and ethnicity.
Roberto Cicutto (right) and the curator of the 60th International Art Exhibition, Adriano Pedrosa
“The figure of the foreigner is associated with the stranger, the straniero, the estranho, the étranger, and thus the exhibition unfolds and focuses on the production of other related subjects: the queer artist, who has moved within different sexualities and genders, often being persecuted or outlawed; the outsider artist, who is located at the margins of the art world, much like the autodidact and the so-called folk artist; as well as the indigenous artist, frequently treated as a foreigner in their own land,” says curator Adriano Pedrosa.
The exhibition will spotlight artists who identify as foreigners, immigrants, expatriates, diasporic, émigrés, exiled, and refugees, focusing on those who have moved between the Global South and North. While delving into historical works from 20th-century Latin America, Africa, the Arab world, and Asia, the event seeks to explore art beyond its traditional realms.
President Roberto Cicutto expressed his excitement about the new curatorial direction, highlighting the importance of exploring contemporary art from different geographical perspectives. Notably, this marks the first time a curator from a Latin American country will oversee the exhibition, offering a fresh perspective on the contributions of South American artists to the Biennale.
The 2024 Biennale Arte will also host the second edition of Biennale College Arte, a unique training workshop to foster the development of artworks by emerging artists under 30. The 60th International Art Exhibition aspires to fill gaps in art history by showcasing artworks from underrepresented cultures and artists, reflecting the international standing of La Biennale di Venezia.