Axis Venice Biennale Fellow 2026

It’s been kind of a whirlwind since I found out about being accepted onto the Venice Fellowship programme back in February. The British Council info pack has been amazing for me, as someone who likes all of the information! 

The first thing I did was look into accommodation. The British Council provided us with a really useful list from past fellows and I managed to find a lovely little apartment in Dorsedoro, the south of Venice. 

I also decided that I’d try to learn a bit of Italian, with mixed results! Three months in and I think I could order food and drink, and weirdly say I have a bellyache. Odd the things that stick in the brain, hopefully I won't need to use that one! 

Still a few months to go, so watch this space. As someone who loves to research I’ve also made a google map with pins of things to see and places to go, it’s slightly overwhelming though but excited to start to explore when I get there. I’m also musing on how to pack for a month whilst still being able to navigate the cobbles and bridges of Venice too, I will report back!

Six Week Induction Programme
 

I dont think I’ve ever been on such a good induction programme, really well facilitated by Becky Schutt. 

Sophie Lucas from the British Council has also been really supportive, answering all of our questions and making us feel comfortable. 

The induction programme was more than I expected and they made a real effort to give us all of the info we needed, there were lots of opportunities to meet our fellow travel group in breakout sessions too. 

We got to hear from Lubaina and Magda more about their thoughts around the exhibition https://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/predicting-history-testing-translation and got a first look at the work before it opened which was so exciting! 

We did a deep dive into the themes of Lubaina’s practice and lots of fellows shared their expertise too. It’s such a knowledgable group. We also heard from Ese Onojeruo who talked about the curation of the exhibition and about her in-depth knowledge of Lubainas work.
https://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/meet-ese-onojeruo-shane-akeroyd-associate-curator

There was a different guest speaker for each session; past fellows, current fellows, the team out in Venice who shared their favourite places and other people connected to the Pavillion and British council. 

We heard about the process of putting together such a big commission, about the textures and acoustics of Venice, people spoke around themes of the exhibition and the Biennale theme In Minor Keys, there were sessions around listening, shared questions to help us do close reading of work and reflections on working with the public. 

Each session left me with loads of notes and sparked so many new ideas and thoughts about my own project. And meant that I felt connected to the other fellows, the work, Venice and excited to start working on my own project. 

The Opening
 

We got to choose three preferred travel groups and I was assigned my first choice - September/ October. I preferred not to go during the opening as I knew it would be a lot and too much for me, but when I saw pictures of the opening with Lubaina, Magda and loads of Preston artists and friends I did get massive FOMO! There also was (as usual) a lot politically going on, heightened this year I think, mirroring the global picture right now. Since then it’s gone a bit quieter. We’re getting updates on WhatsApp from the other fellows who are starting to go, and I’ve been really enjoying seeing the work of another Artist local to me, Gherdai Hassell, whose reflections have been beautiful @hassell_free (on instagram).

The Project
 

One of the nice things about the fellowship is that it has been framed as an experience for us, the artists, and although there’s a great framework and support in place for our projects, there’s not the focus on outcome that we often get as artists. I’ve been thinking about my project and how to link it up to my current thinking and research so I will be working on the proposal over the next few months.

People have also sent me recommendations of what to see, and I’ve been keeping my eyes open for what’s going on, especially outside of the official programme so I thought I’d share some here for anyone who might be interested:

1. What Not to Miss in Venice’s Arsenale and Giardini | Frieze
2. The Must-See Off-Site Shows at the 61st Venice Biennale | Frieze
3. Uzbekistan Pavillion | Frieze
4. ‘The doorbell went at 5am. Six masked men were outside’: Belarus Free Theatre bring totalitarian terror to the Venice Biennale | Art and design | The Guardian
5. Paulo Nazareth. Algebra | Palazzo Grassi - Punta della Dogana - Collection Pinault
6. At the Venice Biennale I saw anger at Russia and Israel – and its leadership pretending everything was fine | Charlotte Higgins | The Guardian
7. Michael Armitage. The Promise of Change | Palazzo Grassi - Punta della Dogana - Collection Pinault
8. Professors Mahwish Chishty and Roopa Vasudevan Exhibit in Venice During 2026 Biennale : Department of Art : UMass Amherst
9. Lorna Simpson. Third Person | Palazzo Grassi - Punta della Dogana - Collection Pinault
10. L’orecchio è l’occhio dell’anima | CoopCulture