The Venice Biennale is the world’s biggest and arguably most prestigious art exhibition.
First organized in 1895, this cultural exhibition is also the oldest of its kind. Each participating country chooses an artist to represent it and the artist gets to showcase their work in Venice, Italy.
The Biennale officially opens this weekend, but Ruth Patir, the artist chosen to represent Israel, will not be participating. She’s keeping her exhibit closed until a ceasefire agreement is reached in the Israel-Hamas war.
There’s a sign on the door of the Israel pavilion that reads: “The artist and curators of the Israel pavilion will open the exhibition when a ceasefire and hostage release agreement is reached.”
Kate Brown, the senior editor at ArtNet News joins host Elamin Abdelmahmoud on Commotion to explain how Patir’s protest is impacting the Biennale and also the art world at large.
We’ve included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, plus a chat with tech writer Emma Roth and music journalist Marc Masters about the resurgence of physical media, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast on your favourite podcast player.
LISTEN | Today’s episode on YouTube:
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You can listen to the full discussion from today’s show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.
Panel produced by Jean Kim
