Announcing our 2026 Venice Biennale Fellow, Lisa Risbec
Axis is funding this Fellowship with the British Council to support an Axis member at the Venice Biennale, opening up access to international experience and connection.
We are pleased to announce that Lisa Risbec has been selected as our 2026 Venice Biennale Fellow.
Axis is working with the British Council and funding this Fellowship to support an Axis member to spend a month in Venice during the Biennale.
We do this to create access to opportunities that are often out of reach, and to support artists to develop their practice, build connections and experience work at an international level.
When I saw this opportunity through Axis, it felt too good to be true, a chance to spend a month in Venice, immersed in the work and part of the British Pavilion.
Lisa Risbec
Lisa Risbec is a visual artist based in West Yorkshire. Her work brings together sound, text, moving image and found objects to explore memory, archives and personal histories. Alongside her practice, she works as an Imaging Assistant at the John Rylands Library and has experience as a photographer, facilitator, mentor, curator and researcher.
During her Fellowship, Lisa will be based in Venice from mid September to mid October, working alongside a cohort of fellows at the British Pavilion, where Lubaina Himid will represent the UK.
She plans to use this time to gather fragments, sound, writing and images, exploring ideas of gesture, atmosphere and place. Her research will also look at archives, access and care in exhibition spaces, alongside visits to the Biennale archive and digital collections in Venice.
Lisa will share her experience with Axis members throughout her time in Venice, with reflections in the Community and a publication and writing to follow.
This Fellowship is part of our commitment to put resources directly into artists and their work, and to widen access to opportunities for our members.