L: Morven Gregor, Photo by Dimitri D’Ippolito. R: Mara Gladstone. Photo by Kieran Punay.
Mara Gladstone is the curator of the Philippine Pavilion at the 61st Venice Art Biennale 2026 Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig a project by artist Jon Cuyson, and Morven Gregor is the Curator of Contemporary and Learning at Mount Stuart Trust, who this year curated Scotland + Venice's presentation Shame Parade by Bugarin + Castle. Read more
Bugarin + Castle, Installation view of the exhibition Shame Parade curated by Mount Stuart Trust for Scotland + Venice at La Biennale di Venezia in 2026. Image by Dimitri D’Ippolito. Courtesy of the artists and Scotland + Venice.
A dark corridor on arrival becomes throat walls as gulping noises play along its narrow green-lit passage leading to Bugarin + Castle’s Venice presentation. ‘Autophony’ is the relevant term for hearing my own biological functioning: creaking, pulsing organs and bones from within. Read more
In the second week here, we move a Vaporetto ride away from Venice and start travelling to work every day across the water. After the first few rides, I stumble off the boat physically, to spend my days on land, internally swaying, asking if anyone else is and realising I’ve left brain and senses on the boat and they’re off doing the rounds of the island. Read more
Detail of Bugarin + Castle, Set Upon, part of Shame Parade curated by Mount Stuart Trust for Scotland + Venice 2026. Image by Ryan Scott.
For me, Bugarin + Castle are quite easily the standout artists at this year’s Venice Biennale. Both young and right at the beginning of their collaborative artistic career, Davide Bugarin and Angel Cohn Castle first crossed paths in Edinburgh, where they were both performing in the city’s queer cabaret scene. Read more
Scotland + Venice has been developed over twenty years as an official Venice Biennale collateral event. Up until its pause in 2024, Scotland+ Venice had established a reputation as one of the Biennial’s most exciting collateral events. Read more
Read an extract from Invest in Love: Decolonial, Feminist, and Queer Curatorial Approaches in deep dive (pause) uncoiling memory, a dissertation submitted for the Degree of MLitt Museum and Gallery Studies at the University of St Andrews by Kate M. Read more
Left: Dr Leora Farber (left), Associate Professor in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, with Alberta Whittle (right) in Venice. Right: Shalom Mushwana, 2022 Professional Development Programme participant from the University of Johannesburg
The Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre (VIAD) is housed within the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA). VIAD supports an international community of Visiting Professors, Research Associates, Affiliated Researchers and Postdoctoral Fellows, whose diverse research projects promote critical thinking (and feeling) around two core thematic currents in relation to visual practice, representation and culture, art and design practices: Africa and African diasporic histories, identities, and creative human practices. Read more
Alice Rose Archer at work in front of the tapestry created as part of Alberta Whittle’s exhibition, deep dive (pause) uncoiling memory Image credit: Joe Satorius
Alice Rose Archer is a preventive conservator originally from the UK and has been based in Venice, Italy, for nearly a decade. After graduating from the University of St Andrews in History of Art and Italian, she moved to Venice and worked on numerous exhibitions as a production manager and curatorial coordinator. Read more
Image: Pause Fabrication Drawing. Courtesy GSS Fabrication. In this instalment of 'Three questions with...', we speak to Kirsty Hendry, Learning & Engagement Manager at Glasgow Sculpture Studios. Read more
Image: deep dive (pause) uncoiling memory, 2022 Installation Shot. Photographer Cristiano Corte, © Alberta Whittle. Courtesy the artist, Scotland+Venice
In this film, Alberta Whittle takes us behind the scenes of deep dive (pause) uncoiling memory, exploring the themes and providing insights into her process. Created by Becky Manson, filmmaker & videographer at National Galleries Scotland. Read more
