The 60th International Art Exhibition, titled Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, will open to the public from Saturday, April 20 to Sunday, November 24, 2024, at the Giardini and the Arsenale; it will be curated by Adriano Pedrosa and organised by La Biennale di Venezia. The pre-opening will take place on April 17, 18, and 19; the awards ceremony and inauguration will be held on 20 April 2024.

“carbon neutrality”

Since 2021, La Biennale di Venezia launched a plan to reconsider all of its activities in light of recognized and consolidated principles of environmental sustainability. For the year 2024, the goal is to extend the achievement of “carbon neutrality” certification, which was obtained in 2023 for La Biennale’s scheduled activities: the 80th Venice International Film Festival, the Theatre, Music and Dance Festivals and, in particular, the 18th International Architecture Exhibition which was the first major Exhibition in this discipline to test in the field a tangible process for achieving carbon neutrality – while furthermore, itself reflecting upon the themes of decolonisation and decarbonisation.

Adriano Pedrosa

Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, the title of the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, 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 that 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.”

“I am honored and humbled by this prestigious appointment, especially as the first Latin American to curate the International Art Exhibition, and the first one based in the Southern Hemisphere,“ Pedrosa commented

Adriano Pedrosa (Brazil) is currently the artistic director of the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, where he has curated many exhibitions, including Histories of Dance (2020) and Brazilian Histories (2022). He has recently been appointed the 2023 recipient of the Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence, which was presented to him by the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, New York.

The curator’s International exhibitions, National participation, and Collateral Events

The Exhibition will take place in the Central Pavilion (Giardini) and the Arsenale, and it will present two sections: the Nucleo Contemporaneo and the Nucleo Storico.

The Exhibition will also include 88 National Participations in the historic Pavilions at the Giardini, at the Arsenale, and in the city center of Venice. 4 countries will be participating for the first time at the Biennale Arte: the Republic of Benin, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Timor Leste. Nicaragua, the Republic of Panama, and Senegal participated for the first time with their pavilion.

30 Collateral Events admitted by the Curator and promoted by non–profit national and international bodies and institutions, will take place in several locations around the city of Venice. They offer a wide range of contributions and participations that enrich the diversity of voices that characterize the Exhibition.

Press Preview

Before the official opening of the 60th Biennale, as is the tradition every year, there will be a three-day-long press preview attended by guests from all around the world. The press preview of the Biennale is a special event where journalists, critics, and media representatives are given exclusive access to the exhibitions before they open to the public. It’s a chance for the press to get a firsthand look at the artworks, installations, and pavilions, and to gather information and insights directly from the artists and curators. The press preview typically includes guided tours, press conferences, interviews, and networking opportunities. It’s an important occasion for generating buzz and coverage around the Biennale, shaping critical discourse, and setting the tone for the public reception of the event.