WAKE THE ARTS

Venice Biennale

Wake Forest Department of Art takes in the biggest art show on earth

A letter from Rudy Shepherd (Professor, Associate Chair, Department of Art)

This summer I brought a group of students to Venice, Italy to observe and study the 61st Annual Venice Biennale. This is one of the most important contemporary art exhibitions in the world that take place every other year and this year's edition involved the participation of 77 different countries that put forth artists to represent them in the exhibition.

This was a short term study abroad program that started after Spring Break and involved visiting Venice and staying at Casa Artom for two weeks in May. As a group we read everything we could about this year's edition of the exhibition, learned about the history of the Venice Biennale and the history of Venice.

During the Spring semester students broke into groups and focused their research on a chosen country's pavilion. When we were in Venice they led a tour and discussion of this pavilion with the whole group.

One highlight was coordinating meetings with artists I knew participating in this year's Venice Biennale including Lavar Monroe (Bahamas Pavilion) and Adebunmi Gbadebo, whose work is in Wake's collection.

Untitled 3, "Dolly" Adebunmi Gbadebo, 2023. Mark H. Reece Collection of Student-Acquired Contemporary Art

Additionally, students who were researching the Azerbaijan pavilion arranged a group meeting with their artist Faig Ahmed (also in Wake Forest's collection). Finally, a chance meeting at the Bahamas pavilion led to a meeting with a curator for the Congo Pavilion.

All of these special additions made for a wonderful experience. The students and I both were blown away by the artwork we saw and the artists we spoke with. The house was wonderful and Venice was magical.”

Credits:

Wake the Arts