Female artists dominate the Venice Biennale for first time in 127 years
- This year’s biennale puts the spotlight on artists who have long been overlooked, while investigating themes such as gender norms, colonialism and climate change
- ‘Some of the best artists today are women... the preponderance of male artists in previous [Biennales] has been astonishing’ curator Cecilia Alemani said
For the first time in the 127-year history of the Venice Biennale, the world’s oldest and most important contemporary art fair features a majority of female and gender nonconforming artists, under the curatorial direction of Cecilia Alemani.
The result is a Biennale that puts the spotlight on artists who have been long overlooked despite prolific careers, while also investigating themes including gender norms, colonialism and climate change.
Alemani’s main show, titled The Milk of Dreams, alongside 80 national pavilions opened on Saturday after a one-year pandemic delay. The art fair runs through to November 27. It is only the fourth of the Biennale’s 59 editions under female curation.
The predominance of women among the more than 200 artists that Alemani chose for the main show “was not a choice, but a process,’’ the New York-based Italian curator, said.
“I think some of the best artists today are women artists,’’ she said. “But also, let’s not forget, that in the long history of the Venice Biennale, the preponderance of male artists in previous editions has been astonishing.”