2024 Venice Biennale: Moroccan Pavilion Shakeup, Germany Announces Artists

The Moroccan Ministry of Culture on January 15 informed Safaa Erruas, Majida Khattari, and Fatiha Zemmouri, the three artists set to represent Morocco at the forthcoming Sixtieth Venice Biennale, that they would no longer be participating in the event. Mahi Binebine, who was to have curated the country’s inaugural pavilion, was also let go and replaced with independent curator and art historian Mouna Mekouar. The change comes only four months ahead of the Biennale, which is slated to run from April 20 to November 24. Binebine toldLe Monde Afrique, which broke the story, that officials had offered no reason for the “last-minute decision.”RelatedORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART IN DIRE FINANCIAL STRAITS FOLLOWING FAKE-BASQUIAT KERFUFFLEPERSON OF INTEREST DETAINED REGARDING DEATH OF BRENT SIKKEMA Both Binebine and Erruas told the publication that they had spent out of pocket to fund the pavilion; Binebine and all three artists are reported to have traveled to Venice in the fall and to have met with Adriano Pedrosa, who is curating the event. Since then, the four have attempted to contact the ministry regarding reimbursement and promised funding but have been unsuccessful. Erruas described the situation as a “nightmare,” asking, “How can an institution that is supposed to help and promote artists disrespect them to this extent?” A continent away, GermanyannouncedYael Bartana and Ersan Mondtag as the artists representing the country in the Biennale.

Curated by Çağla Ilk, a codirector of Baden-Baden Kunsthalle, and conceived by Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen, the pavilion’s commissioner, the pavilion will be titled “Thresholds.” Under that rubric, the Israeli-born Bartana, who splits her time between Berlin and Amsterdam, and Montag, who was born in Berlin and continues to live and work there, will explore thresholds, steps, and boundaries through the lens of migration. The pavilion’s theme is in keeping with the broaderthemeof Pedrosa’s Biennale, “Foreigners Everywhere.”.