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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

60th Venice Biennale

Yinka Shonibare’s The Bird Catcher’s Dilemma, from 2019, is on view at the Nigerian Pavilion.

C. Giazzo, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy

The Venice Biennale is back! And this year, the theme is “Foreigners Everywhere.” To some, the title is a bold provocation that directly alludes to Italy and Hungary’s anti-immigrant agendas. The curator for the 60th edition is Adriano Pedrosa, the artistic director of the São Paulo Museum of Art and the man behind the acclaimed show “Indigenous Histories,” which traveled from Brazil to Bergen, Norway, this year. According to Pedrosa, “Foreigners Everywhere” focuses on the idea of the outsider. “I take this image of the foreigner,” he told The New York Times, “and unfold it into the queer, the outsider, the Indigenous.” It’s the first time a Latin American curator has taken on the top job. Another detail, somewhat darker: It’s the first time the Biennale is exhibiting more dead artists than it is living ones. —Elena Clavarino