Frieze #242 The Venice Issue

The April issue of frieze is dedicated to the 60th Venice Biennale Arte. Dare Turner talks to Jeffrey Gibson, Archie Moore and Inuuteq Storch about the challenges and opportunities of working within the settler colonial framework of their respective national pavilions. Plus, novelist Colm Toibin observes the city through the lens of its artists and writers, with specially commissioned photography by Eric Scaggiante.

Roundtable: Presenting the Nations

‘How can we pull apart umbrella terms and narratives for communities and individuals to talk about their experiences?’ This year’s Venice Biennale sees several projects by Indigenous artists from across the globe. Here, three of them discuss the challenges and opportunities of working within the American, Australian and Danish national pavilions.

‘1,500 Words’: Colm Toibin

‘What a relief to stand in front of a painting of a saint who made himself useful.’ A novelist observes Venice through the eyes of those practitioners who have lived and worked in the city over the centuries.

Also featuring

Associate editor Vanessa Peterson meets with John Akomfrah ahead of his Venice presentation to discuss the challenges of representing the UK at this year’s biennial and the overdue recognition of Black British art. Eric Otieno Sumba analyzes the complex legacies of artists and pavilions from the African continent at the Biennale. Senior editor Terence Trouillot sits down with artists Koo Jeong A of South Korea and Yuko Mohri of Japan, to discuss their respective presentations and the obsolescence of national divisions.