The 2024 edition of Venice's international art festival, the Biennale, kicked off with the theme "Foreigners Everywhere" — an exploration of colonialism and the different realities of migration. The Biennale takes place across the lagoon city until the end of November.
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00:00Tesfaye Ogesse's Prejudice and Belonging is one of the most talked about shows.
00:04Ogesse's paintings use Ethiopian iconography and traditional figurative art and explore race and identity.
00:10It's Ethiopia's first appearance at the Biennale.
00:14As you can see from this Biennale, only 11, 12 countries are represented.
00:19We're all having a pavilion from 54 countries inside Africa.
00:24So it's just the beginning, it's getting better, but there is a long way to go.
00:28Go back on the shadows and people fighting for some form of reparations from the UK.
00:34Africa's presence is also seen through the lens of colonialism.
00:38Portugal's entry, Greenhouse, was curated by three women of African descent.
00:42Artist Monica de Miranda, historian Sonia Vaz Borges and choreographer Vanya Gala recreated a Creole garden.
00:51The concept of the Creole garden, that refers to the plots tended by enslaved peoples.
01:00It is very important to how we see the contemporary challenges of today,
01:05such as climate change, structural racism and many other political challenges.
01:10Because the Creole garden, rather than being a monoculture, as the plantations were,
01:16it is a form of cultivation that brings together multiple species protecting each other
01:23and thinks of diversity in terms of cultivation.
01:29The Republic of Benin is also making its inaugural appearance at this Biennale,
01:33with an exhibition, Everything Precious is Fragile,
01:36works that celebrate the spiritual power of Yoruba women and the deep roots of voodoo.
01:42We are very proud to represent our culture, because our culture is very important.
01:46Important, yet still largely unknown on the international stage.
01:50By giving prominence to artists who have often been excluded from the great exhibitions of the past,
01:55this Biennale aims to add a new chapter to art history.