News: Three Atlanta visual artists to exhibit in prestigious 59th Venice Biennale

Three Atlanta artists, Deanna Sirlin, Megan C. Mosholder and Shanequa Gay have been invited to exhibit at the 59th Venice Biennale, a prestigious international event often considered the Olympics of the art world. Also exhibiting is Marianna Williams, an artist and assistant professor of new media at Augusta University. Founded in 1895, the Biennale runs this year from April 23 through November 27.

Sirlin (Full disclosure: Sirlin is an ArtsATL contributor) and Mosholder are working together on a work called Borders of Light and Wonder. All three artists are part of the Personal Structures exhibit, curated by the European Cultural Center, one of many organizations that hold exhibitions alongside the central Biennale exhibit. Personal Structures will be located in the Palazzo Bembo, a renovated 15th century building. Sirlin’s translucent work will be displayed across 15 windows overlooking the Grand Canal. “Our space will be filled with light and color,” she says.

It’s a big year for women at the Biennale. Cecilia Armani is the first Italian woman to be curator of the Biennale and Simone Leigh is the first Black woman to represent the United States in what’s known as the United States pavilion, one of 90 such pavilions, each representing a nation. She works with Spelman College’s Atlanta University Center Art History and Curatorial Studies Collective, which focuses on cultivating Black curators and professionals.

Courtney Bombeck, an Atlanta art dealer and broker who represents Mosholder and Gay, says she hopes the artists’ participation will open Atlanta up to European markets and curators. “I want the incredible artists here to be recognized. We have so many powerful narratives right here in Atlanta and no one knows about them.”