John Akomfrah, Olga de Amaral, Dana Awartani and Carmen Herrera
in Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere
60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia
Giardini/Arsenale
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Dana Awartani, Come, let me heal your wounds. Let me mend your broken bones, 2024, Darning on medicinally dyed silk, 520 x 1250 x 297 cm, 204 3/4 x 492 1/8 x 116 7/8 in © Dana Awartani, courtesy Lisson Gallery
Opening to the public on 20 April, 'Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere', curated by Adriano Pedrosa, will take place in the Central Pavilion (Giardini) and in the Arsenale, with two sections: the Nucleo Contemporaneo and the Nucleo Storico. As a guiding principle, the Biennale Arte 2024 has favoured artists who have never participated in the International Exhibition. Special attention is being given to outdoor projects, both in the Arsenale and in the Giardini, where a performance program will activate the pre-opening and closing weekend of the 60th Exhibition.
The title ‘Stranieri Ovunque - Foreigners Everywhere’ is drawn from a series of works started in 2004 by the Paris-born and Palermo-based Claire Fontaine collective. The works consist of neon sculptures in different colours that render in a growing number of languages the words “Foreigners Everywhere”. The phrase comes, in turn, from the name of a Turin collective who fought racism and xenophobia in Italy in the early 2000s.
“The expression Stranieri Ovunque”, explains Adriano Pedrosa “has several meanings. First of all, that wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners— they/we are everywhere. Secondly, that no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.”
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Carmen Herrera, Halloween #5, 1948, Oil and acrylic on burlap, 121.9 x 96.5 cm, 48 x 38 in © Carmen Herrera, courtesy Lisson Gallery
Opening to the public on 20 April, 'Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere', curated by Adriano Pedrosa, will take place in the Central Pavilion (Giardini) and in the Arsenale, with two sections: the Nucleo Contemporaneo and the Nucleo Storico. As a guiding principle, the Biennale Arte 2024 has favoured artists who have never participated in the International Exhibition. Special attention is being given to outdoor projects, both in the Arsenale and in the Giardini, where a performance program will activate the pre-opening and closing weekend of the 60th Exhibition.
The title ‘Stranieri Ovunque - Foreigners Everywhere’ is drawn from a series of works started in 2004 by the Paris-born and Palermo-based Claire Fontaine collective. The works consist of neon sculptures in different colours that render in a growing number of languages the words “Foreigners Everywhere”. The phrase comes, in turn, from the name of a Turin collective who fought racism and xenophobia in Italy in the early 2000s.
“The expression Stranieri Ovunque”, explains Adriano Pedrosa “has several meanings. First of all, that wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners— they/we are everywhere. Secondly, that no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.”
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Olga de Amaral, Muro tejido terruño 3, 1969, Wool, 209.6 x 137.2 x 7.6 cm, 82 1/2 x 54 x 3 in © Olga de Amaral, courtesy Lisson Gallery
Opening to the public on 20 April, 'Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere', curated by Adriano Pedrosa, will take place in the Central Pavilion (Giardini) and in the Arsenale, with two sections: the Nucleo Contemporaneo and the Nucleo Storico. As a guiding principle, the Biennale Arte 2024 has favoured artists who have never participated in the International Exhibition. Special attention is being given to outdoor projects, both in the Arsenale and in the Giardini, where a performance program will activate the pre-opening and closing weekend of the 60th Exhibition.
The title ‘Stranieri Ovunque - Foreigners Everywhere’ is drawn from a series of works started in 2004 by the Paris-born and Palermo-based Claire Fontaine collective. The works consist of neon sculptures in different colours that render in a growing number of languages the words “Foreigners Everywhere”. The phrase comes, in turn, from the name of a Turin collective who fought racism and xenophobia in Italy in the early 2000s.
“The expression Stranieri Ovunque”, explains Adriano Pedrosa “has several meanings. First of all, that wherever you go and wherever you are you will always encounter foreigners— they/we are everywhere. Secondly, that no matter where you find yourself, you are always truly, and deep down inside, a foreigner.”
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Installation view of Dana Awartani, Come, let me heal your wounds. Let me mend your broken bones, 2024, Darning on medicinally dyed silk, 520 x 1250 x 297 cm, 204 3/4 x 492 1/8 x 116 7/8 in © Dana Awartani, courtesy Lisson Gallery.
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© The Artists, courtesy Lisson Gallery. Photographby by Jon Lowe.
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Installation view of Dana Awartani, Come, let me heal your wounds. Let me mend your broken bones, 2024, Darning on medicinally dyed silk, 520 x 1250 x 297 cm, 204 3/4 x 492 1/8 x 116 7/8 in © Dana Awartani, courtesy Lisson Gallery.

© The Artists, courtesy Lisson Gallery. Photographby by Jon Lowe.