The Biennale

The Venice Biennale continues to evolve, but its foundations as an international forum for aesthetic debate, experimentation, and, more often than not, controversy remain intact. Although critiqued by artists and curators, the format of distinct national pavilions endures as well. For over 120 years, the Biennale has provided a platform for encountering global perspectives on contemporary art and culture. Beyond simply admiring the art and architecture, visitors can trace the complex entanglement of politics, identity, and creative expression through each edition’s curatorial choices. In this context, African artists and curators share a long history of marginalization, manifesting as outright exclusion and subalternity throughout the 20th century – a problematic past the Biennale has only recently begun to acknowledge. This recognition has taken shape through a series of events, editions and curatorial strategies that have featured African artists and perspectives long ignored.