At the 2024 Venice Biennale, Indigenous artists were prominently recognized, with Australia’s Archie Moore winning the Golden Lion for National Participation and Aotearoa’s Mataaho Collective taking home the Golden Lion for their work in the International Art Exhibition.
Archie Moore’s installation “kith and kin” at the Australian pavilion (selected as one of Artsy’s must-see pavilions) powerfully addressed the impacts of colonialism with a hand-drawn genealogical chart tracing back 65,000 years, linking his own Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British, and Scottish heritage. His work also highlighted the disproportionate incarceration and institutional violence towards First Nations peoples in Australia, with piles of papers representing inquiries into deaths of Indigenous people while in police custody.
The Mataaho Collective, from New Zealand, was recognized for their installation in the International Exhibition, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere.” Featuring an intricate woven structure, the work explores the group’s ancestral, matrilinear textile traditions, casting mesmerizing light patterns throughout the space.
The Biennale also awarded the Silver Lion for promising young talent to British Nigerian artist and filmmaker Karimah Ashadu. Palestinian painter Samia Halaby and Indigenous Argentianian artist La Chola Poblete were also given special mentions. Doruntina Kastrati’s installation about women’s labor in factories at the Republic of Kosovo was awarded a special mention in the national pavilions.
The award ceremony took place on Saturday, April 20th, directed by an international jury led by Julia Bryan-Wilson. With a focus across the main exhibition, as well as in the national pavilions, on Indigenous perspectives and narratives, the awards reflected the artistic recognition that is finally reaching communities that have been marginalized across the globe.
