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The NGC is proud to present Kapwani Kiwanga’s work for Canada at the 60th International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia. Widely recognized for her singular approach, Kiwanga’s work transforms rigorous research in imaginative ways to enable historically excluded narratives to flourish.
– Angela Cassie, Interim Director and CEO, National Gallery of Canada
The Artist
Kapwani Kiwanga (b. 1978, Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian and French artist based in Paris.
She studied anthropology and comparative religion at McGill University in Montreal, art at l’école des Beaux-Arts de Paris and at Le Fresnoy – Studio national des arts contemporains in Tourcoing.
In 2022, Kiwanga received the Zurich Art Prize (CH). She was also the winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize (FR) in 2020, Frieze Artist Award (USA) and the Sobey Art Award (CA) in 2018.
Solo exhibitions have been shown at the Museum Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich; New Museum, New York; State of Concept, Athens; Moody Center for the Arts, Houston; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Kunsthaus Pasquart, Biel/Bienne; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge (USA); Esker Foundation, Calgary; Power Plant, Toronto; Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago; South London Gallery, London, and Jeu de Paume, Paris, among others.
Photo: Bertille Chéret
The Curator
Gaëtane Verna is a Canadian curator based in Columbus (OH). She is the Executive Director of the Wexner Centre for the Arts at the Ohio State University.
From 2012 to 2022, she was the Director and Artistic Director of The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto (ON). From 2006 to 2012, she was Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Musée d’art de Joliette (QC). For more than seven years, Verna also served as Curator of the Foreman Art Gallery at Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke (QC), while also teaching in the Art History department of both Bishop’s University and the Université du Québec à Montréal.
Since 1992, Verna has curated and organized exhibitions by emerging, mid-career, and established artists, and has edited and contributed essays to numerous books and catalogues. In 2017, Verna was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government.
Photo: Tyrell Gough
Kapwani Kiwanga delves into the archives of the world and conducts in-depth research that is woven elegantly throughout her artworks. She is also interested in the role of art as a catalyst for revealing and addressing marginalized, and often silenced, socio-political narratives that are part of our shared histories.
– Gaëtane Verna, Executive Director, Wexner Center for the Arts
Selection
Process
The artist was selected by experts in contemporary Canadian art comprised of:
-
Daisy Desrosiers, Director and Chief Curator, Gund Gallery at Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio
- Heather Igloliorte, Concordia University Research Chair and Co-Director, Indigenous Futures Research Centre, Montreal
- Michelle Jacques, Head of Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator, Remai Modern, Saskatoon
- Adelina Vlas, Head of Curatorial Affairs, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto
- Tania Willard, Assistant Professor of Creative Studies and Visual Arts, University of British Columbia, Okanagan
- Co-Chairs
Michelle LaVallee, Director, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization, NGC
Jonathan Shaughnessy, Director, Curatorial Initiatives, NGC
Biennale Arte 2024
The International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia is the largest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibition in the world with more than 80 countries participating.
For more than 60 years, the Canada Pavilion, situated in the Giardini, has featured the work of the most accomplished Canadian artists, curated by the country’s most renowned curators.
Visiting Venice
The 60th International Art Exhibition—La Biennale di Venezia 2024 runs from April 20th to November 24th, 2024.
Canada Pavilion
Giardini della Biennale
Sestiere Castello
30122 Venezia
Vaporetto: Giardini
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