ARTERIAL NETWORK SEYCHELLES AND THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURE PREPARE FOR THE NEXT VENICE BIENNALE
aTP- Arab tourism portal- Following the first successful exhibition of Seychellois artists George Camille and Leon Radegonde at last year’s Venice Biennale, Arterial Network Seychelles is working closely with the island’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture to make sure that the nation is represented once again at the next Biennale, scheduled to open in May 2017.
Seychelles Art Projects Foundation will once again coordinate the logistics of the Biennale project in close collaboration with Arterial and the Government. At a fruitful meeting recently George Camille, Arterial’s Chairman, and Minister Alain St Ange agreed on the importance of maintaining the momentum achieved by showcasing Seychellois artists at the world’s most important and influential art fair.
‘The creation of the first Seychelles pavilion at Venice in 2015 was a pivotal moment in the development of art in Seychelles’ commented George Camille, a view endorsed by the Minister, who attended the opening of this ground-breaking exhibition.
The participation of Seychelles also raised the nation’s cultural profile and brought aspects of contemporary Seychelles culture to the attention of a significant international audience.
Despite the fact that the next Biennale is still some thirteen months away work has already begun to secure the funding required. Camille continued; ‘Arterial needs to identify a suitable space for exhibiting the work of the artist or artists who will be selected to represent Seychelles in 2017.
We proved last year that it was possible for our small nation to show work at such a prestigious venue and we are determined to make sure that art from Seychelles is always featured at this important event in the future.’ He concluded by encouraging partners to come forward and work with Arterial to realise this goal. ‘Businesses may elect to contribute their discretionary CSR tax to this project, and contributions of any kind from individuals are also very welcome.’
The selection of the artist/s to represent Seychelles will be made – as was the case in 2015 – by an internationally recognised curator, who will consider applications made by artists working in Seychelles.
This will ensure that work is selected objectively and on merit, having been evaluated against the benchmark of international best practice. A formal ‘call for submissions’ will be made soon, however in the meantime any artists who would like to receive details of the application process prior to submission are warmly invited to contact Ilaria Isola, Arterial Administrator, (who is also available to discuss sponsorship) at [email protected], mobile: 2584227.
