Curatorial Study Trip

From October 16 to 19, 2024, Curatorial Studies organized a study trip to the Venice Biennale, themed Foreigners Everywhere.

The first day commenced with visits to the national pavilions in the Giardini, where students each presented a pavilion. Among those discussed were France (Julien Creuzet), Egypt (Wael Shawky), the United Kingdom (John Akomfrah), Canada (Kapwani Kiwanga), and the Netherlands (Cercle d'Art des Travailleurs de Plantation Congolaise, CATPC). These visits sparked reflections on themes such as climate change, societal collapse, and the legacies of colonialism. The day concluded with a visit to the Belgian Pavilion, where we engaged in discussions about the Petticoat Government Party's intentions, prompting conversations on co-curating, the commons, and shared heritage.

On the second day, we visited the Nigeria Pavilion, where the exhibition Nigeria Imaginary, curated by Aindrea Emelife, presented an intergenerational group of nine artists from Nigeria and its diaspora. The show reflected on moments of optimism in Nigeria’s history while imagining future possibilities, posing questions like: How do you imagine a nation? Can we create a contemporary parable? The importance of display in curatorial practice was also discussed.

In the afternoon, we explored the national pavilions within the Arsenale, including Luxembourg’s A Comparative Dialogue Act, conceived by Andrea Mancini and the Brussels-based collective Every Island. This pavilion served as a collaborative production space throughout the Biennale. The Lebanon Pavilion, featuring Mounira Al Solh, addressed displacement and women’s experiences, drawing from the artist's upbringing in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. The day concluded with drinks at Rifondazione Comunista, where Nav Haq, Associate Director at M HKA, introduced the upcoming Thick Atmospheres symposium, which we attended the following day.

The third day began with a visit to the Nebula exhibition at the Complesso dell’Ospedaletto, curated by Leonardo Bigazzi and Alessandro Rabottini. Featuring eight new video installations, the exhibition explored themes of space, perception, and the cosmos, using the metaphor of the “nebula.” In the afternoon, we participated in the Thick Atmospheres symposium, a public program that delved deeper into these themes, introduced by curator Bianca Stoppani. We also had the opportunity to speak with Leonardo Bigazzi, who shared valuable insights into the exhibition’s curatorial vision and conceptual approach.

On the final day, we visited Pierre Huyghe's Liminal exhibition at the Pinault Collection’s Punta della Dogana, curated by Anne Stenne. The visit included a conversation with Victoria Vaz from the Curatorial Office of Pinault, where we explored the curatorial ideas behind the exhibition and the operational dynamics of the Pinault Collection.

The trip concluded with a visit to Christoph Büchel’s Monte di Pietà at Fondazione Prada. This immersive mono-installation tackled urgent societal issues such as debt, poverty, and social inequality. Both exhibitions utilized immersive approaches, encouraging a deeper conversation about the role and effectiveness of such curatorial strategies in shaping audience engagement.

A week later, we had the opportunity to meet with Antoinette Jattiot, co-curator of Petticoat Government Party, who co-curated the Belgian Pavilion’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2024. This meeting offered deeper insights into the curatorial strategies employed and the thematic concerns explored within the pavilion.

Cover picture by Nina Turina