.

Photo: Matthew A. Williams

We are thrilled that Alberta Whittle has been selected to represent Scotland at the 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The project will be curated by Glasgow International and is commissioned by the Scotland + Venice Partnership.

Working across film, sculpture, print, performance and installation, Whittle’s work is often made in response to current events and draws on her research into the African diaspora and decolonisation.  Her practice builds on ideas of the Caribbean Gothic and Hauntology, embracing storytelling to explore ideas of displacement and kinship against a background of catastrophe.

Born in Bridgetown, Barbados, Alberta Whittle lives and works in Glasgow and is a Research Associate at The University of Johannesburg.  Whittle has been based in Scotland since moving here to study at firstly Edinburgh College of Art and later Glasgow School of Art and most recently the University of Edinburgh, where she is a PhD candidate. This year she was awarded a Turner Bursary, the Frieze Artist Award (presenting the film RESET, co-commissioned by Forma and Frieze) and a Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award. Over the next year Whittle will present work at the Liverpool Biennial, British Art Show 9 and Art Night London.

Recognised as one of the world’s most prestigious festivals of contemporary art, the 2022 edition of La Biennale di Venezia will take place from 23 April – 27 November 2022.  This will be the tenth presentation supported by the Scotland + Venice partnership (Creative Scotland, the British Council Scotland, Scottish Government, National Galleries of Scotland and Architecture and Design Scotland) and is the first time that Glasgow International will curate the exhibition.

In the months leading up to Glasgow International 2020, Whittle had been working with GI and Glasgow Sculpture Studios, together with Maryhill Integration Network’s Joyous Choir and groups from Carnival Arts to present new work for the festival. Since GI2020 was postponed due to the pandemic this work will now be shown when the festival moves to its new dates of 11 June and 27 June 2021. In lieu of the 2020 festival, the artist presented the film business as usual: hostile environment as part of the festival’s online programme. The work powerfully and lyrically explores connections between higher proportions of Covid-19 cases amongst BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) communities, the Windrush Scandal and the ‘hostile environment’ policy.

For further information on Whittle’s presentation for Scotland + Venice, visit the Creative Scotland website.