Visual Arts, December
Biennale Arte 2024: Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere
From Tobermory to Venice: A Curator’s Slow-Travel Adventure by Train
I’ve just returned from a week at the 2024 Venice Biennale, and it was truly a life-changing experience. Thanks to funding from the British Council and Creative Scotland, I had the opportunity to develop my curatorial practice, with part of the funding to support slow travel and carbon-friendly transportation. So, I enthusiastically booked train tickets for the journey from Oban to Venice—and back!
The views along the way were spectacular, though the connections were sometimes nerve-wracking. Yet, what stood out most was the exceptional kindness and patience of everyone I met, even when I stumbled through basic phrases like bonjour, bonsoir, scusi, grazie, and prego (those months of Duolingo may have paid off, it seems).
Rather than staying on the main island of Venice, I opted for accommodation on Murano, a quieter and more affordable island in the Venice lagoon. This charming area, home to many locals working in the glass industry or at its numerous restaurants, cafes, and markets, offered a warm and welcoming atmosphere. To reach the Biennale, I relied on the vaporetto—Venice's water buses—which, while occasionally bumpy against the docks, were incredibly straightforward to use. The route maps were somewhat bewildering, but even vacationing Italians seemed to find them confusing.
The Biennale itself was a revelation. Among the highlights for me were the exhibitions in the Giardini and pavilions from the UK (filmmaker John Akomfrah RA), Canada (Kapwani Kiwanga – Trinket), Mexico, Bolivia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the United States. This year’s Biennale, titled Foreigners Everywhere, was curated by Adriano Pedrosa and centred on themes of foreigners, immigrants, expatriates, émigrés, and refugees. The exhibition extended its focus to include outsider artists, indigenous creators, and other marginalized voices.
One standout was the Maku collective from Brazil, whose striking mural adorned the Central Pavilion. Against the backdrop of a Europe grappling with its highest recorded number of forcibly displaced people—108 million in 2022—the Biennale’s themes felt especially poignant.
Critical reception of this year’s Biennale has been mixed, with some calling it the best in forty years. For me, it offered a space of quiet contemplation and a meaningful exploration of historical injustices and abuses. The curator’s efforts to shift the lens away from a Western, heteronormative perspective achieved notable success. Foreigners Everywhere posed an intimate yet bold question: “Who is absent from the contemporary narrative?” by displacing viewers from the certainty of the Western art historical account, this expansive and compelling survey of global contemporary art invited a profound re-examination.
According to thetrainline.com the CO2 figure for the Oban to Venice return journey was a total of 22 kgs. The figures from EcoTree are I travelled 4,844 kilometers in total by train, which equates to 9 kilograms of CO2 emissions, the equivalent flights from Scotland to Venice would be 536 kgs of CO2 emissions.
My heartfelt thanks to the British Council and Creative Scotland for making this extraordinary experience possible.
Visual Arts, November
This month has been very busy with the deinstall of the Celebrating Glasgow Print Studio exhibition at An Tobar Gallery, it has been wonderful to see such amazing artwork from artists like Eduardo Paulozzi, Elizabeth Blackadder, Martin Boyce, Barbara Rae, John Byrne, Alasdair Gray and Ciara Philips. It is a dream come true to be able to exhibit these world class Scottish artists and to link with esteemed and culturally important organisations like the Glasgow Print Studio.
I’ll soon be embarking on a professional development adventure to the Venice Biennale, thanks to the support and funding from Creative Scotland and the British Council! Huge thanks to Micah, our diligent fundraiser, for all of the hard work.
This trip won’t just be about art; it’s also about sustainability. As part of the funding I’ve committed to using the most eco-friendly travel options available. So, I’ll be journeying by train all the way from Oban to Venice—a trip that promises to be as scenic as it is epic!
When I return, I’ll dive straight into preparations for our next exhibition: Seaweed Shelter by the talented Jemima Hall. Jemima, who lives on Mull, will also be leading some seaweed foraging workshops during her exhibition. Her work is inspiring and I can’t wait for us to share it with our community.
Following that, we’ll start setting up the visually stunning Gaffer exhibition, which we’re honoured to host following in the footsteps of the National Maritime Museum. I’m also in conversation with Calum Wallis about his fascinating exhibition, we just have to work out dates for the later part of the year. Looking further ahead, I’m also planning to bring back the open exhibitions once held in An Tobar Gallery, rounding out the 2025 program with a lively schedule of workshops, classes, and talks. So, keep in touch for updates—we’ve got an inspiring lineup coming your way!
Marketing Manager, November
At the beginning of this month we are getting the buildings ready for our winter development programme, so I have been taking down our banners and updating signage, websites, social media and google to this programme. Our new marketing assistant Finlay starts with us this month and has hit the ground running. Finlay has been a regular visitor to Mull and he is very enthusiastic to get stuck into our various winter development programme and projects. It’s exciting times for us at AT&MT!
Visual Arts, October
Autumn is here, and it's my favourite season of year! As we close the buildings for essential maintenance and prepare for a fresh season of exhibitions, I’m busy wrapping up the gallery and getting everything in shape for 2025. We’re planning an exciting lineup of art workshops with Creative Learning next year, including expanding our Drawn to Dance workshops, a week long Bryan Angus drawing masterclass and a new Seaweed workshop or two. It’s going to be a creative year!
Earlier this year, I got fantastic news from our superstar fundraiser, Micah. Thanks to Micah’s efforts, we secured development funding from Creative Scotland and the British Council to expand my creative horizons in Visual Arts, which means… a return trip by train to Venice for the Biennale! I’ll be journeying from Oban to Venice, ready to dive into the amazing exhibitions at the Giardini and Arsenale. I’ve been poring over research on the artists - can’t wait to see work from Archie Moore and Koo Jeong A, with artists representing Britain, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Taiwan. And, I might try and sneak a moment at the iconic Olivetti showroom. It promises to be an inspiring and transformative experience!
Marketing Manager, October
Our big marketing news is we scored funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to hire a marketing assistant for 2025! After interviewing some exceptional candidates and careful deliberation, we’re thrilled to welcome Fin, who comes to us from Beacon Arts. This winter, Fin and I will dive into planning and refining our strategies for next year.
It’s been a lean year budget-wise, so receiving these new resources—funding for artistic development and a new marketing team member—feels like a big win. With the Creative Scotland funding application announcement soon and all the experience I’ve gathered over the years here at An Tobar and Mull Theatre, we’re poised for an exciting and ambitious 2025.