60th Venice Biennale: Foreigners Everywhere
Arsenale and Giardini, Venice, Italy, 20 April-24 November
Adriano Pedrosa, the São Paulo-based curator of the 2024 Venice Biennale, says his edition will be more topical than ever, tapping into economic and sociopolitical issues through the figure of the straniero (foreigner, or outsider).
This idea of the marginal onlooker is linked to queer artists, who have often been persecuted or outlawed, as well as outsider artists, autodidacts and Indigenous creatives, who are “frequently treated as a foreigner in their own land”, Pedrosa says.
He stresses that the Biennale will have a particular focus on artists who have moved between the Global South and the Global North. Pedrosa is the first Latin American curator—and the first from the Southern hemisphere—to curate the Venice Biennale.
Pedrosa adds in a statement that “the backdrop for the work is a world rife with multiple crises concerning the movement and existence of people across countries, nations, territories and borders. This reflects the perils and pitfalls of language, translation and ethnicity, expressing differences and disparities conditioned by identity, nationality, race, gender, sexuality, wealth and freedom.”
The Biennale will also feature a section with works by 20th-century artists from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. A special part will be devoted to the Italian artistic diaspora of the 20th century.
Eric-Paul Riege, installation view at Prospect 5. Photo: Alex Marks. Courtesy the artist.
24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns
Various venues, including Artspace and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, 9 March-10 June
The organisers want to inspire visitors to “come together to thrive in the face of injustice” through the works of 88 artists from 47 countries, according to a project statement. The directors, Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero, aim to tackle a number of themes, from the resurgence of Indigenous technologies, which enable such communities to live sustainably, to the history of Islam in Australia. The Fondation Cartier pour l’art Contemporain in Paris has commissioned 14 First Nations artists for the Biennale.
Photo: Diriyah Biennale Foundation
2nd Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale: After Rain
Various venues, Jax district, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 20 February-24 May
The drive to promote the cultural credentials of Saudi Arabia continues. Led by the German curator Ute Meta Bauer, the biennial is due to feature 92 artists from 43 countries. A number of new commissions include a work by the Saudi artist Ahmed Mater and the Berlin-based photographer Armin Linke, who are collaborating on a project documenting “Saudi futurism” since the 1940s.
The full list of 2024 Biennials and triennials
Lagos Biennial
Lagos, Nigeria, 3-10 February
Lahore Biennale
Lahore, Pakistan, 9 February-March
2nd Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 20 February-24 May
Manif d’art 11—Quebec City Biennial
Quebec City, Canada, 23 February-28 April
24th Biennale of Sydney
Sydney, Australia, 9 March-10 June
8th Yokohama Triennale
Yokohama, Japan, 15 March-9 June
Contemporaine de Nîmes
Nîmes, France, 5 April-23 June
Anozero’24: Coimbra Biennial of Contemporary Art
Coimbra, Portugal, 6 April-30 June
Bruges Triennial
Bruges, Belgium, 13 April-1 September
60th Venice Biennale
Venice, Italy, 20 April-24 November
Innsbruck International
Innsbruck, Austria, 3-26 May
6th Mardin Biennial
Mardin, Turkey, 10 May-10 June
Biennale Gherdëina 9
Val Gardena, Italy, 31 May-1 September
Glasgow International
Glasgow, Scotland, 7-23 June
Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale
Echigo-Tsumari, Japan, 13 July-10 November
15th Gwangju Biennale
Gwangju, South Korea, 7 September-1 December
Manifesta 15
Barcelona, Spain, 8 September-24 November
14th Bienal do Mercosul
Porto Alegre, Brazil, 13 September-17 November
18th Istanbul Biennial
Istanbul, Turkey, 14 September-17 November
Lofoten International Art Festival
Lofoten, Norway, 20 September-20 October
17th Biennale de Lyon
Lyon, France, 21 September-5 January 2024
Toronto Biennial of Art
Toronto, Canada, 21 September-1 December
Bangkok Art Biennale
Bangkok, Thailand, 24 October-25 February 2025
11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art
Brisbane, Australia, 30 November-27 April 2025
Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, November