Yto Barrada per la Francia

 foto di © Benoît Peverelli

Oggi l' Institut Francais ha comunicato che l'artista che rappresenterà la Francia alla prossima Biennale d'Arte sara Yto Barrada.

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A seguito di una commissione di selezione organizzata dall'Istituto Francese, la Sig.ra Yto BARRADA è stata designata a rappresentare la Francia alla 61. Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte – La Biennale di Venezia nel 2026. La scelta di questa commissione, presieduta dalla Sig.ra Claire LE RESTIF, direttrice dell'Istituto Centro d'Arte Contemporanea di Ivry – le Crédac, è stato selezionato dal Sig. Jean-Noël BARROT, Ministro dell'Europa e degli Affari Esteri e Sig.ra Rachida DATI, Ministro della Cultura. 

La giuria ha scelto Yto BARRADA “per la sua pratica multidisciplinare che riunisce diverse comunità artistiche e sociali alla ricerca di una nuova utopia. Ricercatore iconoclasta, artista totale e senza confini, Yto BARRADA reinventa la “scultura sociale” alla luce di pedagogie alternative e trasforma i canoni del modernismo in un giardino plurale. Da Parigi a Tangeri, passando per New York, disegna una mappa unica che raccoglie nuove voci – invisibili, fragili, storiche o dimenticate – per trasmettere le loro storie. Tanti motivi che hanno portato la giuria a invitare Yto BARRADA a dispiegare i suoi mondi nello spazio del Padiglione Francese e a condividerli con il pubblico della Biennale di Venezia. » 

Nato nel 1971 a Parigi, Yto BARRADA è un artista franco-marocchino che vive e lavora tra New York e Tangeri. Ha studiato storia e scienze politiche alla Sorbona, poi fotografia a New York. Per 25 anni, ha sviluppato una pratica multidisciplinare - installazione, film, fotografia, scultura, tessile ed editoria - attraverso progetti a lungo termine che affrontano questioni diverse come il luogo del gioco nelle pedagogie alternative, la strumentalizzazione della botanica nelle politiche urbane, il traffico internazionale di fossili di dinosauro, l’antropologia coloniale, il panafricanismo o le politiche culturali durante la Guerra Fredda.

Esplorando contemporaneamente fatti culturali, processi naturali e storie storiche, il lavoro di Yto BARRADA presta particolare attenzione alla trasmissione del know-how locale, alla circolazione di forme estetiche e alle strategie di disobbedienza sociale. Evidenziando l'idea di comunità, parentela artistica e collaborazione con amici e familiari, spesso includono una rilettura delle avanguardie artistiche moderniste.

Yto BARRADA ha co-fondato la Cineteca di Tangeri nel 2006. Ha anche creato The Mothership , un centro di ricerca e residenza attorno a un giardino di piante tintorie che coltiva da dieci anni. The Mothership è un luogo di ritrovo per artisti, giardinieri e pensatori che vanta un approccio femminista, ecologico e giocoso alla creazione e trasmissione della conoscenza.

Il lavoro di Yto BARRADA è stato oggetto di mostre monografiche al Jeu de Paume, Parigi (2006); alla Renaissance Society, Chicago (2011); alla Tate Modern, Londra (2011); al Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, (2013); al Carré d'Art, Nîmes (2015); al Barbican Centre, Londra (2018); al MASS MoCA North Adams, Massachusetts (2021); al Museum of Modern Art, New York (2021); allo Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2022); alla Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Germania (2023); a Césure – Urban Plateau nell'ambito del Festival d'Autunno (2023); al MoMA PS1, New York (2024), tra gli altri. Ha partecipato inoltre a numerose biennali, tra cui quelle di Venezia (2007, 2011), Sharjah (2011), Istanbul (2013), Marrakech (2016), Gwangju (2018) e Whitney (2022).

Le opere di Yto BARRADA fanno parte di collezioni pubbliche di tutto il mondo, in particolare quelle del Centre Pompidou (Parigi), del MoMA (New York), della Tate Modern (Londra), della Kunsthalle Basel, del Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Reina Sofia (Madrid), Mathaf (Doha) e Mumok (Vienna), tra gli altri. 

Tra i suoi riconoscimenti, l'artista è stata nominata Artista dell'anno dal Deutsche Guggenheim nel 2011. Ha inoltre beneficiato della borsa di ricerca del Peabody Museum (Università di Harvard) nel 2013-2014, della Soros Arts Fellowship nel 2023 e ha ricevuto numerosi premi, tra cui l'Abraaj Group Art Prize nel 2015, il Roy R. Neuberger Prize nel 2019, il Mario Merz Prize e il Queen Premio Sonja Print nel 2022. 

È rappresentata dalla Polaris Gallery (Parigi), dalla Sfeir-Semler Gallery (Beirut, Amburgo) e dalla Pace Gallery (New York, Londra, Seul, Hong Kong, Ginevra, Los Angeles, Tokyo). 

Il Padiglione Francese

Il Padiglione Francese all’Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte – La Biennale di Venezia è realizzato dall’Istituto Francese, sotto l’egida del Ministero dell’Europa e degli Affari Esteri e del Ministero della Cultura. Per la sua 61a edizione, il Padiglione accoglierà il progetto di Yto BARRADA e il pubblico in uno spazio completamente rinnovato dopo un anno di lavori e un'edizione fuori sede della Biennale di Architettura 2025. Questo progetto di restauro, finanziato dalla Francia, è gestito dagli Edifici e la Direzione della Logistica (DIL) del Ministero dell'Europa e degli Affari Esteri attraverso il suo dipartimento dei lavori e degli edifici francesi in Italia (STBI) in coordinamento con l'Ambasciata di Francia in Italia. I lavori, che inizieranno a gennaio 2025 e dureranno 15 mesi, mirano a migliorare le prestazioni energetiche dell’edificio, offrire una migliore accoglienza ai visitatori e ammodernare le strutture esistenti. Da dicembre 2021 gli studi per questo progetto sono affidati all'architetto veneziano Donata Cherido.

Merike Estna per l'Estonia

 

The Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art is proud to announce artist Merike Estna has been selected to represent Estonia at the 61st Venice Biennale. The 61st International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia takes place in 2026.

Merike Estna is a painter based in Tallinn and Mexico City. Her work focuses on the processes of painting as well as integrating works of art and life. Estna often uses craft practices, combining these with an expanded approach to painting to highlight traditions that have not been traditionally recognised in the medium of painting.

The open call for the 2026 Estonian pavilion received 25 submissions. The selection process was conducted in two stages by an international jury. First, the jury reviewed all submissions – a portfolio, a letter of motivation, and an idea-in-progress for the Estonian pavilion – and selected six artists for the second round. During the second round, the members of the jury conducted studio visits in Tallinn. The six artists included Merike Estna, Karel Koplimets, Paul Kuimet, Urmas Lüüs, Ene-Liis Semper and Kristina Õllek.

The jury consisted of Chus Martínez, Head of the Institute Art Gender Nature, Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW in Switzerland; Hendrik Folkerts, Curator of International Contemporary Art and Head of Exhibitions at Moderna Museet in Stockholm; Lolita Jablonskienė, Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Vilnius; Anu Allas, Vice Rector for Research at the Estonian Academy of Arts; Maria-Kristiina Soomre, Art Adviser to the Estonian Ministry of Culture; and Maria Arusoo, Director of the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art and Commissioner of the Estonian pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Commenting on the process and selection criteria, the jury embraced the opportunity for engagement, reflecting on the artists’ methodologies and their approaches to uniquely contemporary questions. “One needs to see a jury like this not only as an instrument of decision-making but more broadly as providing an exchange between local artists and the international community. The jury recognised in the work of all twenty-five artists a valuable attempt to contribute to urgent questions about art and society, using a personal and unique language. The jury particularly acknowledges the very positive reception of the dialogues that took place during studio visits and the artists’ willingness to open up the work, to receive feedback, and to share concerns. This made the process a very valuable format in itself that may result in future collaborations. We would like to thank all artists for taking the time to respond to the call – it shows true commitment to art and culture,” the jury noted in a joint statement.
Regarding Merike Estna’s work, the jury was impressed by her ability to use the medium of painting as a space for politically and socially relevant questions, as well as the grounds for activating questions of artist labour. The jury recognised Estna’s work for its maturity and impact, appreciated the artist’s insistence on situating painting at the intersection of performance and the social. Her approach shows how traditional media can be re-invented as tools to regenerate a collective trust in art.

As the next stage, Estna will start developing the exhibition for the 2026 Estonian pavilion together with a team of the pavilion and consultants. The search for the location of the next Estonian pavilion starts in spring 2025.

Merike Estna (1980) lives and works in Tallinn, Estonia and in Mexico City, Mexico. She graduated from the painting department at the Estonian Academy of Arts (BA, 2005) and from Goldsmiths, University of London (MFA, 2009). She has received several Estonian art awards, among them the Hansapank stipend (2004), the Eduard Wiiralt Grant (2005) and Konrad Mägi Prize (2014). From 2017–2023, she was an associate professor at the Department of Painting at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Estna was among the recipients of the national artists’ salary between 2020 and 2022. More information about Estna’s work is available at the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art’s artist database here.

Participating since 1997, this will be the fifteenth time Estonia will be exhibiting at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. The Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art is the official representative of the Estonian exposition and it is financed by the Estonian Ministry of Culture.

Abbas Akhavan per il Canada

 

Foto di Alex de Brabant

L'artista Abbas Akhavan rappresenterà il Canada 

The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) announced that Abbas Akhavan will represent Canada at the 61st International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia from April to November 2026. Working across site-specific ephemeral installations, drawing, video, sculpture, and performance, Akhavan critically engages with formal, material, and social legacies that shape the boundaries between public and private spaces. 

Jean-François Bélisle, Director & CEO of the National Gallery of Canada, commissioner of the Canada Pavilion in Venice, said: “The Biennale Arte is a vital forum where the world comes together and talks through art. The National Gallery of Canada is uniquely positioned to bring together artists, art institutions, and cultural organizations from across the country to celebrate Canadian talent on the global stage and facilitate connections in the art world. We are thrilled to announce that Abbas Akhavan has been nominated to represent Canada at the 61st International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia. Abbas’ work is shaped by the unique characteristics of the sites he works on, including the architectures, surrounding economies, and individuals who frequent them. We look forward to supporting him in bringing this vision to life at the Canada Pavilion.”

The artist was selected by a committee of experts in contemporary Canadian art comprised of Julie Crooks, Curator, Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, Art Gallery of Ontario; Léuli Eshrāghi, Curator of Indigenous Practices, Montreal Museum of Fine Art; Crystal Mowry, Director of Programs, MacKenzie Art Gallery; Daina Warren, Executive Director, Indigenous Initiatives at Emily Carr University; Pan Wendt, Curator, Confederation Centre of the Arts; and committee chairperson Jean-François Bélisle, Director & CEO, National Gallery of Canada.

Born in Tehran and based between Montreal and Berlin, Abbas Akhavan’s multidisciplinary practice reflects on the relationships between place and history, attending to the geopolitical forces which define spaces. Recent solo exhibitions include Copenhagen Contemporary and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (2023); Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2022); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2021); and The Power Plant, Toronto (2018). He was the recipient of the Sobey Art Award in 2015. In November 2026, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis will present a mid-career survey of Akhavan’s work.

The artist selection committee said: “The committee was drawn to the interdisciplinary practice of Abbas Akhavan, a meticulous artist and thinker for whom the site of an exhibition becomes both a proposal and provocation involving the staging of relations between materials, memory, and place. Whether invoking the ruins of ancient statues destroyed during geopolitical conflicts or exploring the stated idealism of gardens and other domesticated spaces, Akhavan’s sculptural environments set the natural world in uneasy balance with the valorization, exploitations, or indeed indifferences of contexts, systems, and projections all too human in origin. We look forward to seeing Akhavan turn his attention to the space and architecture of the Canada Pavilion within the historic Giardini della Biennale in Venice.”

The International Venice Biennale is the largest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibition in the world with more than 80 participating countries. The Canada Pavilion is commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada and supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. It is presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.

Visitors to the Venice Biennale 2024 can still view Kapwani Kiwanga: Trinket at the Canada Pavilion until November 24, 2024.

For more than 60 years, the Canada Pavilion, situated in the Giardini in Venice, has featured the work of the most celebrated Canadian artists. Canada’s representation in Venice has played a part in shaping the role and place of Canadian contemporary art within international circles, helping to launch or elevate the international careers of artists including Jean Paul Riopelle, Michael Snow, Geneviève Cadieux, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Rebecca Belmore, David Altmejd, Shary Boyle, BGL, Geoffrey Farmer, Isuma, Stan Douglas, and in 2024, Kapwani Kiwanga

Isabel Nolan per l'Irlanda

 

Dal sito https://visualartists.ie/ apprendiamo che Isabel Nolan rappresenterà l'Irlanda ala prossima Biennale nel 2026

Isabel Nolan announced to represent Ireland at 61st Venice Art Biennale in 2026
From the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

6th November 2024.

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. has announced the selection of artist, Isabel Nolan, with Georgina Jackson and The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art as the curator, to represent Ireland at the 61st Venice Art Biennale in 2026.

The Venice Biennale is one of the most important international platforms for visual arts, attracting over half a million visitors, including global curators, gallerists, art critics, and artists. The selection of the team to represent Ireland was made following an open, competitive process, with international jury members.

Minister Martin, said:
“I would like to congratulate Isabel Nolan, Georgina Jackson and The Douglas Hyde Gallery on being selected to represent Ireland at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. Isabel Nolan is recognised to be at the forefront of Irish visual arts practice. Participation at the Venice Art Biennale increases awareness of Ireland’s strong visual arts sector; it is also an important moment in an artist’s career. My Department, through Culture Ireland, commissions Ireland at Venice in partnership with the Arts Council.”

Artist Isabel Nolan’s exhibitions are rooted in big subjects: cosmology and deep history; religion and mythology; mortality and love. Working across sculpture, textiles, paintings, drawings, photography and writing, Nolan responds to the fundamental question of how humans bring the world into meaning. Her work has a remarkable capacity to speak to audiences, looking for ways to like, or even love, the complex world we’ve made. In 2027, this work will return to Ireland on a national tour, supported by the Arts Council, in a variety of venues across the island.

The selected artist, Isabel Nolan said:
“To represent Ireland in any sphere of cultural activity is a great privilege. To have my work in congregation with so many other artists is a rare opportunity; as is the occasion to reach such large audiences there, and at home with the national tour.
Venice is an extraordinary city and to have the great fortune to realise this ambitious project with curator Georgina Jackson of The Douglas Hyde and producer Cian O’Brien is very exciting. Art has a strange and special capacity to make and test powerful kinds of community with shared knowledge and beauty, however temporary. The Venice Biennial is a stage like no other.”

Curator Georgina Jackson said:
“Artist Isabel Nolan is a leading light of contemporary Irish visual art. The Venice Biennale is an incredible platform to spotlight both her work and the vibrancy of Irish contemporary visual art, and connect to far reaching audiences. Showing Isabel’s work in Venice is a powerful proposition; motifs that recur in her work include arches, fallen chandeliers, surging waves and dying suns– imagery which will resonate dramatically in the Arsenale. I am honoured and excited to work with Isabel, producer Cian O’Brien, the team at The Douglas Hyde, Culture Ireland and The Arts Council to deliver Ireland at Venice 2026, and build on the legacy of successful previous pavilions.”