With the addition of Benin, the number of African nations participating has now increased to twelve from seven in 2017; Ghana and Madagascar debuted in 2019 and Cameroon and Namibia had their debuts at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022.
On 13 March, the Republic of Benin announced that it will be debuting with a national pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in Italy, which will hold from 20 April–24 November 2024. The announcement makes Benin the latest addition to the global art event which has been running since 1895.
In a statement, the president of the Republic of Benin, Patrice Talon, revealed that the pavilion will be curated by Azu Nwagbogu, founder and director of the Lagos-based African Artists’ Foundation. Nwabogu will be assisted by Yassine Lassissi, artistic director of La Galerie Nationale du Bénin, and architect Franck Houndégla. Playwright José Pliya, the general director of La Galerie Nationale, will commission the pavilion.
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