Meetings on Art from 15 to 18 October

The 60^th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, expands with a programme of Meetings on Art such as lectures and round table discussions on the themes of Biennale Arte 2024, from Tuesday 15 to Friday 18 October 2024. A calendar of Performances animates the closing week from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 November 2024.

MEETINGS ON ART*
The Meetings on Art return to the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale (Campo della Tana 2161, Venice) seeking to explore some of the key themes of the Exhibition: Indigenous Practices, Arte Popular, Modernisms outside of the Eurocentric canon and Queer Activism. Each session will feature speakers whose contributions will lead into a final round table discussion at the end of the day.

Indigenous Practices
Tuesday 15 October, 4:30 pm > 7:00 pm

As indigenous art gains increasing traction within the contemporary art world, the challenges faced by artists and how they are represented become important topics of discussion. This panel offers in-depth analyses of specific practices and examines the benefits and discontents of inclusion.

Welcome and introduction by Adriano Pedrosa, and Amanda Carneiro, artistic organiser, 60^th International Art Exhibition.

Speakers:
Kássia Borges Karajá, member of the MAHKU collective (Movimento dos Artistas Huni Kuin), one of the participating artist in the 60th International Art Exhibition. Visual artist and indigenous activis, she’s currently a professor at the Federal University of Uberlândia in Minas Gerais, Brazil. 

Elvira Espejo Ayca, visual artist, musician, weaver, poet, and narrator of the oral tradition from her native region, ayllu Qaqachaka, Oruro, Bolivia. Currently director of the National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore in La Paz, she was awarded the Goethe Medal (2020), the highest cultural distinction by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Rember Yahuarcani, visual artist, curator, and activist for Indigenous rights and knowledge from the Uitoto Indigenous Nation and the White Heron Clan in Pebas, Loreto, Peru. He has exhibited widely in Latin America, North America, Europe, and Asia since 2003. He is a participating artist in the 60th International Art Exhibition.

Taarati Taiaroa is a Māori curator of Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Apa tribal descent. She is based in Ngāmotu, Aotearoa where she holds the position of Assistant Curator Contemporary Māori Art at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Len Lye Centre, a contemporary art museum of the Pacific. Her research has focused on Māori exhibition & collection histories, Māori Post-minimalism and the ethics of collaborative practice.

Discussion moderated by Amanda Carneiro.

Arte Popular
Wednesday 16 October, 4:30 pm > 7:00 pm

The outsider artist, the self-taught artist and the figure of the so-called artista popular in Latin America, are among those artistic subjectivities that have been excluded or marginalised from the grand narratives of Modernism and Contemporary Art. Speakers in this panel present curatorial and scholarly perspectives that have blurred the boundaries between fine and applied arts or craft, making way for the vernacular and the popular.

Introduction by Sofia Gotti, artistic organiser, 60^th International Art Exhibition.

Speakers:
Lynne Cooke, Senior Curator in the Department of Modern at Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. “Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction”, her most recent exhibition, will travel to the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, in November 2024, and MoMA, New York in April 2025.

Ticio Escobar, Paraguayan curator, professor, art critic, and essayist, has written over fifteen books and received numerous international honours, including five honorary doctorates and the Bartolomé de las Casas Award for his defence of Indigenous causes. He has served as Director of Culture of Asunción and Minister of Culture of Paraguay.

Miguel A. López, writer and currently co-curator of the 2024 Toronto Biennial of Art. He is also Chief Curator of Museo Universitario del Chopo in Mexico City.

Rodrigo Moura, curator, editor and writer. He is Chief Curator at El Museo del Barrio, New York.

Discussion moderated by Sofia Gotti.

Modernisms
Thursday 17 October, 4:30 pm > 6:30 pm

The work of modernist artists from the Global South demands a radical revision of modernist art histories. Committed to its radical reimagination, this panel explores Modernism beyond Europe, its intersections with colonialism, diasporas, and migration, and how it was reshaped by local and Indigenous perspectives.

Introduction by Sofia Gotti.

Speakers:

Gloria Cortés Aliaga, art historian and curator at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Chile. She specialises in studies with a gender and feminist perspective, the shaping of modernity in Chile, and its sociocultural impact on visual politics.

Nada Shabout, Regents Professor of Art History and the coordinator of the Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Initiative (CAMCSI) at the University of North Texas. She is the founding president of the Association for Modern and Contemporary Art from the Arab World, Iran and Turkey (AMCA) and founding director of Modern Art Iraq Archive (MAIA).

Devika Singh, senior lecturer in Curating at the Courtauld Institute of Art. She was previously Curator, International Art at Tate Modern and is the author of International Departures: Art in India after Independence (Reaktion Books, 2023)

Discussion moderated by Sofia Gotti.

Queer Activisms
Friday 18 October, 4:30 pm > 7:00 pm

The Biennale Arte 2024 has endeavored to bring greater visibility to gender non-conforming and queer artists in recognition of enduring fights for civil rights across the globe. This panel invites artist-activists and scholar-activists to talk about the challenges and strategies that have been vital to their own political praxis, and it considers the role of visual art in grassroots politics.

Introduction by Leandro Muniz, assistant curator, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP

Speakers:
10^th Istanbul Trans Pride Exhibition Collective (Jiyan Andiç and Asya Leman), group of activists, artists, and scholars dedicated to trans* rights and preserving the memory of Turkey's trans* movements. In 2024, in collaboration with DEPO/Tütün Deposu and other supporters, they created the exhibition DÖN-DÜNBAK / Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey, showcasing archives, art, oral histories, and academic works. The government banned the exhibition after a few weeks. Speaking on stage are collective members Jiyan Andiç, curator and researcher, and Asya Leman, activist, visual artist, and film editor.

Luce deLire, ship with eight sails, lies down by the quay. As a philosopher, she publishes on the metaphysics of infinity but also on art, queer theory, anti-racism, postcolonialism, and political theory. In her performances, she embodies figures of the collective imaginary. For more, see getaphilosopher.com

Queers in Palestine (QiP) is an independent grassroots collective, established October 2023, to deliver the anti colonial voice and analysis of queer Palestinians from Palestine to the world, and struggle against interconnected systems of oppression, including imperialism, patriarchy and racial capitalism, striving towards justice, self-determination and liberation. Representing the collective is Maria Zreiq, a Palestinian artist and community organiser, born raised and based in Palestine. Working predominantly with text and image-making through various forms including photography, documentary filmmaking, and poetry, her work examines notions of memory, longing, and resistance during times of political and social upheaval. As an organiser, Maria’s practice centres on revolutionary pedagogy, culture production, and queer imaginaries. 

Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi, aka crazinisT artisT, is a Ghanaian multidisciplinary "artivist", curator, philanthropist, and mentor. As a trans woman, her artistic and advocacy works focus on gender stereotypes, prejudices, healing, queerness, and identity politics. She has performed and exhibited globally. Her work has been featured in several publications and magazines.

Discussion moderated by Leandro Muniz, assistant curator, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand - MASP

* Admission to the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale is free while seats last. Reservations are not required.
Disclaimer: During this event, scenes that may contain nudity and strong visual elements, including blood and medical instruments, will be shown. Viewers’ discretion is advised.

Nine performances** ranging from sound to choreography, elaborating in new forms the themes of the 60^th International Art Exhibition, will animate various locations inside the Arsenale from Monday 18 to Sunday 24 November.

Projects and artists:

Arsenale – Corderie

Isaac Chong Wai
Falling Reversely

La Chola Poblete
Sin Tetas

Antonio Guzman & Iva Jankovic
Messengers of the Sun – Dub Waves & Interferences

Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo)
My heart is beating as I lip sync to this song

Arsenale - Artiglierie

WangShui
Culebra

Arsenale – Sala d’Armi E

Gabrielle Goliath
Elegy

Ahmed Umar
Talitin تَالـِـتِن (The Third)

Arsenale – Tese dei Soppalchi

Joshua Serafin
PEARLS

** To attend the Performances in the programme, visitors must possess a valid admission ticket to Biennale Arte 2024.