60th Venice Biennale Sees Record Attendance

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Stats on the Venice Biennale’s 60th edition, which closed Nov. 24, are in and attendance at this oldest of international art fairs has set a record. 

During its seven-month run, the biennale, entitled Foreigners Everywhere and curated by Adriano Pedrosa, drew 699,304 viewers to Venice, Artforum reports. This marks the second-highest attendance in the event’s 129-year history and its longest duration, running from April 20 to Nov. 24, 2024. 

The record high of more than 800,000 was set in 2022. Titled The Milk of Dreams and curated by Cecilia Alemani, the 59th edition was the first mounted after the Covid-19 crisis. It ran for a then-unprecedented 197 days. 

According to Artforum, Foreigners Everywhere took place “after the global cabin fever engendered by the pandemic had died down, and ran even longer, clocking in at 219 days. The 2024 figure is higher than that of pre-pandemic 2019, when nearly 600,000 visitors flocked to May You Live in Interesting Times, curated by Ralph Rugoff.”

Also of interest is the fact that this bienniale saw more younger attendees, with 30 per cent under the age of 26, while 59 per cent of all visitors came from outside Italy.

Abbas Akhavan will represent Canada at the 61st international Venice Biennale in 2026. Kapwani Kiwanga, a Canadian and French artist based in Paris, represented Canada in 2024.

Source: Artforum

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