The British Council has announced that Tarini Malik will be the Shane Akeroyd Associate Curator of the British Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia.
Tarini Malik is a curator and writer based in London. Previously, she was a curator at the Whitechapel Gallery and responsible for the planning and delivery of the artistic programme, as well as at the Hayward Gallery where she organised a number of landmark group exhibitions as well as the first solo presentations in the UK of various artists.
Photo by Sarah Bates
Malik was also Head of Exhibitions for artist Isaac Julien, research curator on several major touring international exhibitions and contributed to the main exhibition at 2015’s Venice Biennale. She has held curatorial posts at Fiorucci Art Trust, Frieze Projects and Serpentine Galleries, published her writing in various magazines and journals and lectured widely on cultural studies and curating.
Malik said: “I am deeply honoured to serve as the Shane Akeroyd Associate Curator for the British Pavilion and to work alongside the remarkable John Akomfrah, whose influence on contemporary art discourse across the globe has been profound.
“The opportunity to collaborate closely with Akomfrah, Smoking Dogs Films and the esteemed team at the British Council is a privilege beyond measure and I am grateful for how much there is to learn from everyone involved. Together, we aspire to stage an ambitious exhibition that embraces the breadth of Akomfrah’s artistic vision and inspires visitors at La Biennale Arte 2024.”
Miranda Stacey, Director of Visual Arts and British Council Collection, said:
“Tarini Malik is an incredibly exciting and dynamic curator and we are delighted with her appointment to oversee the development of John Akomfrah’s exhibition for the British Pavilion at La Biennale Arte 2024.
“Tarini’s expansive ideas around the opportunities for global discourse and dialogue offered by moving image and John Akomfrah’s work as well as her thinking around the legacies of the work beyond the British Pavilion and Venice will bring an important dimension to this project. We look forward to undertaking this journey with John and Tarini, exploring the notion of what it means to be British in a global world.”
This is the second time this post has been sponsored by British philanthropist and contemporary art collector Shane Akeroyd, who has generously pledged ten years’ worth of support for the Associate Curator of the British Pavilion art exhibitions in Venice.
Shane Akeroyd, supporter of the Shane Akeroyd Associate Curator post, said:
“It is a privilege to be able to support the British Council and British Pavilion at next year’s Biennale. Tarini is the perfect choice for curator to support an artist as bold and deliberate as John. This combination will undoubtably deliver another ground-breaking presentation in Venice in 2024.”
In 2022, Emma Ridgway was appointed as Associate Curator, supporting artist Sonia Boyce OBE RA with her installation, Feeling Her Way. This went on to win the Golden Lion for Best National Participation and since then, Emma has been appointed as Director of the Foundling Museum.
The British Council has been responsible for the British Pavilion at La Biennale di Venezia since 1937, showcasing the best of the UK’s artists, architects, designers and curators. These exhibitions, and the British Council’s Venice Fellowships initiative introduced in 2016, help make the British Pavilion a major platform for discussion about contemporary art and architecture.
Malik will curate Sir John Akomfrah’s British Council commission for the British Pavilion which will run from 20 April to 24 November 2024.
©2023 The British Council
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