Source: Creative New Zealand
Interdisciplinary artist Yuki Kihara is New Zealand’s artist for the 59th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia – Venice Biennale – in 2021, The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa announced today.
Of Samoan and Japanese heritage, Kihara is renowned for delving into the complexities of postcolonial histories in the Pacific and interrogating Western misinterpretations from the perspective of Fa’afafine.
Arts Council Chair Michael Moynahan says, “Yuki Kihara will be the first artist of Pacific descent to represent New Zealand at the Biennale Arte. This is a significant moment, not only for Yuki, but for the legacy of the New Zealand presentation.”
“Yuki has built a strong reputation for work that is engaging, visually striking and topical. Her presentation will speak to the shared histories between Aotearoa and the Pacific, illuminating alternative voices through a focus on Yuki’s homeland Sāmoa.”
In response to her official appointment to represent New Zealand at Biennale Arte 2021 Yuki says, “The glass ceiling has been shattered. This moment is so much bigger than me, especially for the Pacific art community. I am humbled by this opportunity and the platform that enables me to further amplify my practice.”
Kihara, who lives and works in Samoa, was chosen by a nine-strong Selection Advisory Panel which included Lisa Reihana, NZ artist for the 2017 Biennale, and Nina Tonga, Contemporary Art Curator at Te Papa. Australian Natalie King, currently Enterprise Professor at the University of Melbourne, was also announced today as the curator for Kihara’s 2021 New Zealand exhibition presentation.
The Biennale Arte is the world’s largest and most prestigious international contemporary art exhibition involving more than 80 countries. It opens in Venice every two years in late May and runs for approximately six months, attracting over 30,000 key international curators, critics, collectors and artists to the three-day Vernissage (preview) period alone.
New Zealand’s successful Biennale Arte 2019 exhibition Post Hoc, by Dane Mitchell, is currently on until 24 November.
