2024 Edition
Every two years, Venice suits up for what the Venice Biennale, a six-month, all-island, non-stop blockbuster art fest of exhibitions in palaces, galleries, public spaces, and, of course, the Giardini and Arsenale. I’m beginning to think it should be called the Art Olympics, an entirely spectator event where you should have a little prep and a great pair of walking shoes.
This year’s 60th Venice Biennale Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere brings it on strong with 331 artists, 88 national pavilions and 30 collateral events, not to mention other pop ups all over the islands, and by that I mean Venice’s 118+ archipelago. There is a lot of to do and I’m used to fielding questions like “How much time do I really need?” and “do I really need to see all of it?” After a few years living in Venice and working for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the US Pavilion, I’ve got the Biennale down to an art form and I’ve got the answers for you.
Venice Biennale Logistics
The great thing about the Biennale is it lasts six months (this year’s edition closes November 24) which means if you can’t cover every nook, cranny, palazzo, garden, and museum, the first time, you could always come back and hit what you missed. But seriously, you probably only have one shot to visit, so let’s make the best of it.
The Biennale takes place in two somewhat nearby locations: Giardini Biennale, an expansive garden and the Arsenale, a centuries-old shipyard. This is where you’ll find the national pavilions and the Biennale’s group show. Collateral Events, i.e.external exhibitions organized by galleries and institutions, pop up all over the island fabulous palaces, deconsecrated churches, former offices spaces and more. You’ll want to see these as well, so here’s the plan: a three day art adventure, giving you time to enjoy the art as well as Venice itself. .
Protip: Buy multi-ticket Biennale pass which allows unlimited entry to the Giardini and Arsenale.
Day 1- The Biennale Gardens and Arsenale
Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere is everywhere all at once. Plan to spend your first day at the Giardini and Arsenale, compressing both locations into a one day experience so that you can make the most of Venice for spontaneous art exploration. You’ll thank me for suggesting a multiday pass because you may want to return at the end of the trip. With that in mind, here’s my list of pavilions and exhibitions not to miss:
Giardini
Australia: Kith and Kin, Archie Moore
Golden Lion winner for Best Pavilion. First Nation artist Archie Moore created an installation that is a tribute to Australia’s First Nations people while examining colonialism. At the center of the room is a table piled with hundreds of redacted documents tracking the historic incarceration of First Nations people, while on the surrounding black walls is a massive hand-written family tree spanning 24000 generations and 65,000 years.
Egypt Drama 1882, Wael Shawky
Shawky’s Drama 1882 is a film rendition of an original musical play directed, choreographed, and composed by Shawky about Egypt’s nationalist Urabi 1879-82 uprising against imperial influence. Operatica and mesmerising, Shawky’s set, colours and composition are surreal.
France: Attila cataracte ta source aux pieds des pitons verts finira dans la grande mer gouffre bleu nous nous noyâmes dans les larmes marées de la lune, Julien Creuzet
Creuzet’s installation is like walking through a technicolor looking glass. His multimedia collage is a mix of sounds, images, and objects that seemingly trawl the ocean to pull up traces of contemporary culture and colonial history. What does this mean? It’s a beautiful visual and auditory experience, with a captivating soundtrack.
Korea: Odorama City, Koo Jeong A
For the past decade, Korea has been my go-to pavilion, and this year, it didn’t disappoint. Koo’s Odorama City was a bit surreal, an almost empty pavilion guided entirely by scent. In 2023, he amassed 600 written statements about Korean smells and then worked with perfumers to interpret them into 16 distinct scents. I found it really calming, and serene.
Poland: Repeat After Me II, Open Group ((Yuriy Biley, Pavlo Kovach, Anton Varga)
A film-slash-karaoke experience in which viewers are invited to sing the sounds of war, imitating AK47s, missiles and explosions that witness refugees share. It’s dramatic, and the sounds continue to follow you outside of the pavilion and into your Venice experience.
USA: the space in which to place me, Jeffrey Gibson
Gibson transforms the US pavilion with dynamic colour, craft, sculpture and video. A member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, Gibson explores narratives of identity and tradition of Indigenous and minority communities in the American landscape, deconstructing and redefining mainstream with a futuristic vision of inclusivity. What does that mean? It’s bright, colourful and inspiring.
Arsenale
To be honest, my favorite part about the Arsenale was the Corderie, a nearly one-kilometre stretch where room after room is a curated group show. There is a lot of art to see, and it is almost overwhelming. Take a deep breath, and just enjoy what catches your eye.
New Zealand’s Mataaho Collective
Golden Lion winner for Best International Work
The Corderie kicks off Takapau, a large-scale installation by New Zealand’s Mataaho Collective (artists Erena Arapere-Baker, Sarah Hudson, Bridget Reweti and Terri Te Tau) and inspired by Māori takapau (finely woven mats made for special events). Takapau is 200sqm of suspended weaving made from six kilometres of trucking straps and other safety materials (like buckles and j-hooks) used in construction and labor jobs. Light and shadows change beautifully with every angle.
Walk the entire Corderie, and if you aren’t oversaturated, turn into the next area, a series of rooms for exhibitions and country pavilions. You’re about to enter a series of country pavilions. Make sure to look for Bokk by artist Alioune Diagne in the Senegal pavilion, Wangshui’s futuristic video and LED installation, and Sites of Memory, Sites of Amnesia by artist Abdullah Al Saadi UAE pavilion.
Days 2 and 3 – Off Site in Venice
You’ve done it. You’ve visited the main venues of the Biennale. You’ve seen a lot of art and want to see more, without the intensity. What truly makes the Biennale experience is the kismet of walking around the city and stumbling into an offsite pavilion and collateral events that pop up in every neighborhood. From San Marco to the Giudecca and more, there is art in every neighborhood. Sometimes it’s as easy as just walking into a palazzo. Other times, you need a little bit of foresight and organization. If you’re visiting Venice for Biennale 2024 season, drop a pin on the following out-of-this-world exhibitions.
Castello, San Marco and Rialto
Walking from San Marco to Castello, head to Palazzo Bollani for Tesfaye Urgessa’s beautiful paintings in the Ethiopia pavilion and then back to Campo San Francesco alle Vigne for Are We The Aliens, which could be my personal favorite of the entire Biennale. You are guided through a quasi-extraterrestrial landscape to the first level of deconsecrated church where you are surrounded by Arne Quinze’s oversized, cloud-like sculptures. A soundtrack of sonic sounds by Swizz Beatz, choreographed with llights, hypnotise and take you higher.
On route to Canareggio, ’Palazzo Soranzo van Axel is a fairytale, a gorgeous Gothic palace of light stone. The palazzo is also the perfect setting for Collective Behaviour, a glimpse at key pieces chronicling the career of MacArthur Foundation genius Shazia Sikander.
Near Rialto, Eva Jospin creates Selva,a fantastical forest with fairy tale cottages made of wood, cardboard and earthy fibres inside the gorgeous Museo Fortuny. In nearby San Marco, I learned everything I needed to know and more about Robert Indiana in the retrospective The Sweet Mystery in Piazza San Marco, Both visits require ticket purchase.
Dorsoduro and Giudecca
On the edge of Dorsoduro’s Zattere are two beautiful, immersion pieces: Magazzino del Sale is The Rooted Nomad, a trippy installation cover the interior of a large house with the works of India’s M.F. Husain, and Josefa Ntjam’s swell of spæc(i)es, a futuristic almost off world space inhabiting the courtyard of the Accademia di Belle Arti.
Nearby is Boundaries, a digital video animation slash altarpiece by Memo Akten in Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione. As you return towards the Accademia bridge, stop at Passengers in Transit, a group show inside a former ancient pharmacy. Paris’s 193 Gallery shows a capsule collection of work by Afro-descent artists April Bey, Christa David, Euridice Zaituna Kala, Joana Choumali and Thandiwe Muriu.
In Campo San Barnaba, walk into Palazzo Canal for Nigeria Imaginary, a group show of the Nigeria Pavilion featuring Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Ndidi Dike, Onyeka Igwe, Toyin Ojih-Odutola, Abraham Oghobase, Precious Okoyomon, Yinka Shonibare CBE RA and Fatimah Tuggar. In a labyrinth of rooms, the artists’ work explores moments in Nigeria’s history, and offer both a Nigeria that could be and one that is yet to come.
Last but definitely not least is the Holy See Pavilion, inside Giudecca’s Casa di Reclusione Femminile. This could be the sleeper hit of the Biennale, most likely because it requires the most effort. The group show takes you inside the women’s detention center, and in order to enter, you’ll need to book a reservation well in advance.
It’s easy to find once you get to your location pin- Maurizio Cattelan’s enormous feet mural covers a building wall. Recalling Andrea Mantegna’s Il Cristo Morto, Cattelan’s piece sets the tone for a show that addresses themes in human rights, and talks about judgement and be judged. Once inside, prisoners guides you through the hallways and rooms where you’ll find pieces by Claire Fontaine, Sonia Gomes, Corita Kent, Marco Perego & Zoe Saldana, and Claire Tabouret.
At the end of three days, you’ll either be exhausted or excited, and definitely saturated in contemporary art. The best advice? Make a general plan, drop some pins of your not-to-miss pavilions and exhibitions in a personalised Google map, and wear comfortable shoes. Get ready for the unexpected – you never know what you where the Biennale will lead you.
Where to Do In Venice
As I’ve mentioned in past posts about exploring Venice, whether during the Biennale or at other times, the key is knowing what you want out of Venice. Do you want a lot of art? Great food? Something unexpected? Something architectural? Or do you just want to explore? For that, I’ve put together a bunch of guides that should help you enjoy Venice just a little more.
Venice Guides
- Venice with Ciao Bella is my curated Saltete guide (created April 2024) that details all of my favorite places to eat, stay, visit and drink. You have to buy it and you should because each month I review and update the guide. For the Biennale, I created a special section of exhibitions and shows not to miss.
- The best advice I can give anyone coming to Venice is to walk around La Serenissima’s six sestieri(neighborhoods).
- Finally, get out of Venice and on to an island. From glass and lace to almost wild, there are beautiful islands to explore. You can make it a day trip or just half a day. Lately, I’ve been in love with La Certosa.
- Heard about Venice’s pesky entrance fee? I’ve shared all about it in the Ciao Bella newsletter. Make sure to sign up.
Where To Stay
St. Regis, the “if money was no object” address. Location is key, it’s just a few minutes walk to Saint Mark’s Square, and the Grand Canal hotel faces the Saltue, this is exactly where Monet stayed and painted. And it’s had a complete renovation to make it less “grand hotel” style and more contemporar with pieces by international artists including Ai Wei Wei, design pieces by Berengo Studios, and the fabulous Arts Bar serves custom art themed cocktails.
Violino d’Oro, a tiny boutique infused with Italian craftsmanship – from the custom designed furniture and handcrafted stucco walls to the pillows covered in Rubelli fabrics, Micheluzzi glass, Fortuny fabrics, antiques, midcentury design pieces, and contemporary art, and all the way down to the hand-placed Venetian seminato terrazzo flooring. It’s effortlessly chic and it feels like home. And that’s the point. And I interviewed founder Sara Maestrelli.
Venice Venice, a 25 room (probably a few more) hotel in the city’s oldest palazzo, which just so happens to be on the Grand Canal by the Rialto bridge is all about contemporary art, which each room inspired by an artist or movement like Christo, Flux’s, Beuys or even John Cage. Owners are Alessandro Gallo and Francesca Rinaldo, the duo behind haute-couture kicks Golden Goose
A version of this article originally appeared in Forbes
May 27, 2024
