The global art fair and magazine brand Frieze will sponsor the British pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale (20 April-24 November 2024). The five-figure partnership, which will support John Akomfrah's British Council Commission, marks the first time that an art fair has provided funding for a national pavilion at the Biennale, according to a statement.
Financial support for the British pavilion comes from a combination of public funds, via the British Council, and private sponsors. Frieze's partnership is "essential" due to the "ambitious vision" of Akomfrah's pavilion, which has necessitated "increased support from sponsors and patrons to deliver the full scale of his commission", says the British Council's director of development, Andrew McGlynn.
The British Council will "continue to invest in the British pavilion at the same level as in 2022", McGlynn adds. Sonia Boyce was the last artist to represent Great Britain at the Biennale; her exhibition, Feeling Her Way, won the Golden Lion for best national participation.
A spokesperson for the British Council declines to reveal what proportion of the total British pavilion budget Frieze's sponsorship represents.
The art market has had a strong presence at the Venice Biennale since its inception. In recent years, the influence of commercial galleries on the exhibitions has been widely discussed. But while dealers are understood to sell works shown at the Biennale before, after and even during the show, the potential financial gains for an art fair are less apparent.
“Nothing inside our art fairs can be impactful if it doesn’t take part in a wider healthy art ecosystem,” says Eva Langret, the director of Frieze London. She points to a number of Frieze's other recent institutional collaborations, including with the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (ICA), Tate and the Arts Council Collection, as further evidence of the brand's efforts to "deepen its position" within this ecosystem. The British Council, rather than Frieze, will decide exactly how the money is spent, Langret confirms.
Frieze will also provide support to the British pavilion through "dedicated content featuring the pavilion as well amplification via Frieze’s social channels," according to a statement.
Frieze's partnership will be credited within the pavilion and in wider marketing and public programme activities, McGlynn says. Burberry will rejoin as the headline sponsor of the British pavilion.