Scotland’s decision to pause its involvement in the world’s most prestigious art exhibition, the Venice Biennale, has been met with dismay by one Turner Prize-winning former participant.

Martin Boyce represented Scotland at the event in 2009 and won the Turner Prize two years later. Speaking exclusively to The Herald he said that should the pause become permanent it risks marginalising Scottish artists by making them less visible.

 “The Venice Biennale is often described by people as the Olympic Games of the art world,” he said. “You’re really on the world stage like nothing else, and of course it’s not just the art world that descends on Venice and looks at everything but there’s a huge audience beyond the art industry. So the level of exposure for Scotland, and for the artists involved, and the institutions is massive.”

Without that exposure “there’s a real danger Scottish culture becomes more and more marginalised,” he added. “That visibility and that presence – and being part of that international conversation – is really worth it. I think it’s really value for money. And it’s really not just for the individual artists. Of course there are benefits there, but the knock-on effects are so important.”

Glasgow-based Katrina Brown, director of visual arts organisation The Common Guild and for decades a mainstay of Scotland’s visual art scene, said it was “a shame” Scotland would not participate for the foreseeable future but appreciated that the move was indicative of the precarious nature of arts funding in Scotland currently. “Pausing is not a bad thing but I hope it’s not a full stop,” she said.

Dating back to 1895, the Venice Biennale is widely viewed as one of the foremost global cultural events and alternates between art and architecture. It draws 500,000 visitors to its many national pavilions and is a key player in the development and maintenance of the art market.

Among the other artists who have exhibited at Venice over the course of Scotland’s 20-year involvement are Graham Fagen, Karla Black and Alberta Whittle (pictured below), the subject of a major new exhibition opening at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh on Saturday. It will feature two works Whittle showed in Venice in 2022 and which have since been purchased for the nation.

The Herald:

The announcement that Scotland would send no artists to the 2024 event was made by Scotland + Venice, the body which oversees the Biennale programme. It is a partnership between Creative Scotland, the British Council, National Galleries of Scotland, Architecture and Design Scotland, V&A Dundee and the Scottish Government.

“This has been a difficult decision to make, especially given the project’s significant achievements over the last 20 years,” said a spokesperson. “However, in the present financial and planning environment it feels necessary to review the current model of delivery, and to consider the project’s position within the wider scope of international opportunities available to Scotland’s art and architecture communities.”

While stressing that Scotland wasn’t withdrawing from the Biennale indefinitely and that the pause was for “a period of reflection and review, they added that the decision “also acknowledges the impact that the project has on the environment and the need to consider how it can be delivered more ethically and sustainably into the future.”

There is no change to plans for the Scotland + Venice Architecture project, A Fragile Correspondence, due to open in Venice in May and run until November.

READ MORE: CHARLOTTE PRODGER TO REPRESENT SCOTLAND IN VENICE