For Folasade Ologundudu, the 60th anniversary of the Venice Biennale is more than just a contemporary cultural happening—it's a groundbreaking moment for African artists, generations in the making.
On her podcast, Everything Is Connected, known for hosting conversations with artists and curators like Sanford Biggers and Liz Andrews, she is interviewing individuals from the African diaspora partaking in the biannual Italian art rendez-vous. The limited series, titled Light Work presents: Everything is Connected, African Artists and Curators in the Venice Biennale, launched last week and will consist of six episodes focused on the unprecedented diversity of this year's iteration, which has 13 African countries participating, many for the first time.
"When it became clear that this 60th edition would mark a historic, groundbreaking first with more African nations and artists participating than ever before,” Ologundudu says, “I knew it was an important time in the contemporary moment.”
The New York-based curator, podcast creator, and writer has been following the Biennale's evolution for some time, covering the art world in her criticism and interviews published at the likes of ArtForum, ARTnews, and Frieze, amongst others. Across platforms, including the creative network, Light Work, that she founded, Ologundudu investigates the changing tides of African Modernism, Indigenous craft, and the post-colonial identities of nations from the Global South.
“On the heels of so many challenging moments our society has experienced and the prolific call for more justice and equity across race and gender identity, I recognized that by speaking with artists and curators working at the edge of the field who are true innovators in every sense of the word I could share the transformations we are seeing take place in the cultural zeitgeist of our modern world,” explains Ologundudu.
Guests of the show include Aindrea Emelife, curator of the Nigerian pavilion; Azu Nwagbogu, curator of the first-ever Republic of Benin Pavilion; the South African collective MADEYOULOOK, consisting of Molemo Moiloa and Nare Mokgotho; and Wael Shawky, representing Egypt for the first time at the Egyptian pavilion. Much of the series was recorded during Biennale preparations, making the episodes a unique snapshot of the unfolding creative process.
This project was put together with the support of Light Work and The Africa Institute, Global Studies University, a think tank and post-graduate institution that specializes in the research, teaching, and documentation of the African Diaspora.
“Providing a platform for artists to speak their truth, advocate for themselves, and share their unique perspectives is urgent and timely work that not only adds a richness to our society,” Ologundudu concludes, “but offers alternative ways of seeing and considering art and our own individual roles within our world."
