Foreigners Everywhere: Mural Art is No Longer a Stranger. The Integration of Mural Art into the 2024 Venice Biennale

Abstract

The Venice Biennale 2024 marks a significant moment in the ongoing redefinition of mural art within the framework of contemporary artistic discourse. Historically associated with political activism, social resistance, and alternative visual cultures, muralism has often occupied a liminal space between institutional recognition and underground artistic practice. However, its presence at this year’s Biennale signals a paradigm shift, wherein an art form rooted in public, often unauthorized, interventions is now legitimized within one of the most prestigious platforms of global contemporary art. This transition is not merely a matter of visibility but could reflect a broader reconfiguration of power structures in the art world. The incorporation of large-scale mural works—such as MAHKU’s mythological retelling of migration, Aravani Art Project’s exploration of gender identity through color symbolism, and Frieda Toranzo Jaeger’s fusion of indigenous embroidery, queerness, and automotive iconography—underscores the capacity of muralism to articulate socio-political narratives that extend beyond the constraints of traditional gallery spaces. These interventions challenge the Eurocentric, object-based model of art consumption by emphasizing ephemerality, site-specificity, and collective authorship, thereby questioning the conventions of artistic value, permanence, and ownership. At the same time, the Biennale’s embrace of muralism raises critical questions: Does the institutionalization of an art form born from countercultural movements alter its radical potential? To what extent does the relocation of mural art from the street to the white cube or, in this case, the walls of the Biennale’s pavilions, transform its function as a vehicle for dissent and community engagement? These tensions lie at the heart of this year’s mural interventions, positioning them not merely as aesthetic contributions but as active negotiations of power, space, and voice in contemporary art.