From lagoon to coast

Within curatorial and exhibition studies discourse, the Venice Biennale and Dakar Biennial have been predominantly analyzed through binary and mutually exclusive theoretical frameworks. The Venice Biennale (La Biennale) is typically positioned within hegemonic Western art historical narratives, while the Dakar Biennial (Dak’Art) is contextualized as a Global South initiative functioning primarily as a Pan-African platform. This chapter challenges the prevailing assumption that biennials operate as entities fixed within crystallized geopolitical positions. Instead, it demonstrates substantial evidence of ongoing dialogues between the Venice and Dakar Biennials occurring across multiple institutional levels and contexts since 1990, revealing a more complex relationship characterized by mutual influence and exchange.