Foreigners Everywhere
Venice Biennale 2024: Can Adriano Pedrosa save the event? No pressure.
Balancing diplomacy and geopolitics is nothing new for Adriano Pedrosa, the first Latin American curator of a Venice Biennale. This challenge does not intimidate him; he is used to making blunt statements about contemporary art. According to Pedrosa, only workaholics and delusional optimists should embark on the task of organizing a Venice Biennale. This statement is not superficial, as the Brazilian curator has experienced firsthand the intensity of the countless flights and midnight meetings that have filled his calendar over the past two years.
In a video interview, Pedrosa commented that “this probably would have taken five years and a team of intense researchers” had he not spent more than a decade mulling over the Biennial’s possibilities, most recently in his role as the influential artistic director of the São Paulo Museum of Art. Pedrosa’s preparation and experience will be tested on April 16, when the press previews of the 60th international exhibition begin. At that time, the world will judge whether the 58-year-old curator has captured the zeitgeist of contemporary art with his double show, “Foreigners Everywhere,” presented in the expansive spaces of the Giardini and the Arsenale.
The exhibition’s title is provocative, particularly relevant in the context of growing anti-immigration agendas in countries such as Italy and Hungary. However, Pedrosa approaches the subject from a celebratory perspective, highlighting the foreigner and the historical waves of migration across the globe. He offers a catalog of synonyms-“immigrant, emigrant, expatriate”-and expands the concept to include figures such as the queer, the outsider and the indigenous. “I take this image of the foreigner and unfold it into the queer, the outsider, the indigenous,” Pedrosa says.
Pedrosa’s vision for the Venice Biennale 2024 is ambitious and inclusive. It reflects a profound meditation on issues of identity and belonging in a globalized world. With his innovative approach and vast experience, he has the potential to redefine the Biennale and leave an indelible mark on the contemporary art landscape. The coming months will reveal whether his proposal resonates with the audience and sets a new standard for future cultural events of this magnitude.
VENICE ART BIENNALE 2024(18 articles)the venice art biennale 2024 – the 60th international art exhibition of la biennale di venezia – takes place from april 20 to november 24, 2024. the 2024 edition, is curated by adriano pedrosa under the theme foreigners everywhere.
