13th May – 26th November 2017
2017 is a great year for art lovers. In fact, just mentioning the European scene, there are at once documenta in Kassel (till 17th September), the Sculpture Project in Munster (till 1st October 2017), and the Art Biennale in Venice (till 26th November 2017), plus all the annual big fairs like Art Basel (June 2017) and Frieze London (5th-8th October 2017) and hundreds of temporary shows in museums and galleries all around. Thus, a busy busy year!
The first destination I visited was the Venice Biennale, this year curated by Christine Macel (France 1969, Chief Curator at the Musée national d’art moderne – Centre Pompidou in Paris) who titled her creature Viva Arte Viva with the declared intention to celebrate ‘art for art’s sake’. Despite the apparent naivety of the core show, there is a solid group of international participations and side shows which investigate critical issues such as the phenomenon of global mobility and migration by presenting the notions of Diaspora, refugees, multi-culturalism, class, and the gradual rise of the term ‘global citizen’.
Just to mention a few, there are the acclaimed South-Africa Pavilion (for the first time ever exhibiting in the Arsenale), the pavilion of Zimbabwe, and the three-location booths presented by Tunisia which this year holds an artist-free project, The Absence of Path. Remarkably, for the size of the project which lays behind the show, the Diaspora Pavilion in Palazzo Pisani Santa Marina is amongst the ones which also deserve a visit. This show is part of a larger two-year educational programme, the Diaspora Project, linked with the Beyond the Frame project. Together these two programmes aim to support and help 22 among young artists and curators in further develop their practices and launch their careers in the professional world by offering them cross-generational mentoring from leading professionals in the arts, and international networking. Both the programmes are organised by the International Curators Forum (ICF) in collaboration with the University of the Arts London (UAL) and are supported by Arts Council England and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The Diaspora Pavilion is a group show presenting the works of 19 artists who belong to the first and second generation of the worldwide Diaspora migrated to the UK. In the months preceding the show in Venice, the young artists – Larry Achiampong, Barby Asante, Libita Clayton, Kimathi Donkor, Michael Forbes, Paul Maheke, Susan Pui San Lok, Khadija Saye, Erika Tan, Barbara Walker, Abbas Zahedi – have been working together with the mentors – Sokari Douglas Camp, Ellen Gallagher, Nicola Green, Joy Gregory, Isaac Julien, Dave Lewis, Hew Locke, Yinka Shonibare MBE – receiving feedback and suggestions on how to strengthen their work. The final display is inclusive of all media: paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, video, sound works, photography, and performances. Some of the works, such as the 6 steel-slaves by Douglas Camp – All the World is Now Richer (2012) – the new sculptural output by Forbes – Untitled (2017) – and the already known video by Isaac Julien – The Leopard (Western Union: Small Boats) (2007) – work powerfully speaking loudly to the public about the trauma which defines the Diasporic experiences also lived by the artists on show. However, none of the works feature an outstanding technical research and the media are used by the artists in the most traditional way with no much room for experimentation. Eventually, what you could expect from visiting the Diaspora Pavilion is an intense journey in a decidedly political show of both established and young artists of the Diaspora based in the UK who present works about cultural issues and their Diasporic experiences. Only do not expect to see anything which amazes the eye but rather questions your knowledge and raises awareness. Certainly, a thought-provoking show.
