Highlights from the MBA Arts and Cultural Management study trip to the prestigious Venice Biennale 2024! 

Under the curation of Brazilian curator Adriano Pedrosa, this year's theme, "Foreigners Everywhere,"  is drawn from a series of works started in 2004 by the Paris-born and Palermo-based Claire Fontaine collective. The works consist of neon sculptures in different colours that render in a growing number of languages the words “Foreigners Everywhere”. The phrase comes, in turn, from the name of a Turin collective who fought racism and xenophobia in Italy in the early 2000s.

The expression Stranieri Ovunque – explains Adriano Pedrosa – has several meanings. First of all, wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners— they/we are everywhere. Secondly, no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.»

As a guiding principle, the Biennale Arte 2024 has favored artists who have never participated in the International Exhibition—though a number of them may have been featured in a National Pavilion, a Collateral Event, or in a past edition of the International Exhibition. Special attention is being given to outdoor projects, both in the Arsenale and in the Giardini, where a performance program is being planned with events during the pre-opening and closing weekend of the 60th Exhibition.

Indigenous artists have an emblematic presence and their work greets the public in the Central Pavilion, where the Mahku collective from Brazil will paint a monumental mural on the building’s façade, and in the Corderie, where the Maataho collective from Aotearoa/New Zealand will present a large-scale installation in the first room. Queer artists appear throughout the exhibition, and are also the subject of a large section in the Corderie, and one devoted to queer abstraction in the Central Pavilion.

During their visit, our students had the privilege of exploring the pavilions at the Giardini and Arsenale, including must-see stops like the United States Pavilion, French Pavilion, William Kentridge Pavilion, and LAS Pavilion, among others. Guided by professors Carolina Ariza and Fabienne Bidaud, they engaged in thought-provoking exhibitions and dynamic discussions with industry leaders.

For young, aspiring professionals in the arts and cultural sector, this experience is nothing short of enriching and inspiring. Stay tuned for more updates from their incredible journey!

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