The exhibition will run from 9 May to Sunday 22 November 2026. Two UCL students form part of a cohort of 60 Fellows who will animate the British Pavilion and develop a range of creative projects to coincide with the Biennale’s themes.
Following a competitive process overseen by SCCI Careers Education Manager Dr Leo Burtin and involving two UCL internal panels and a final selection by the British Council the Fellows who will be representing us on the international stage are Yewande Adeniran and Alzbeta Preissova.
Through the Fellowship, Yewande will develop her Ephemeral Cartographies project, an experimental exploration of urban and social textures through sound, text, and installation. While in Venice, Yewande will engage with the Biennale’s national pavilions - including British and Nigerian - to interrogate how colonial histories and national narratives shape art, representation, and identity.
Reflecting on being selected for this opportunity, she said:
“This opportunity is exciting for me as both a visual anthropologist and experimental artist whose research focuses on coastal communities. Being in Venice, a city shaped by water, feels especially resonant, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the work of Lubaina Himid and other artists across the different pavilions. I’m excited to be inspired by the incredible range of art from across the globe. As a Black woman artist myself, it’s particularly meaningful to experience her work in this context, and I’m looking forward to connecting with other artists and exploring the city’s art scene, and how it might inspire new ideas and experimentation in my own practice.”
For Alzbeta, participating in the Fellowship is a chance to “connect to new inspiring people through art and get to know Venice from another angle”. Alzebta’s project Tuning In explores how visitors perceive and respond to selected Biennale artworks through multiple senses. She said:
“Tuning In extends this year’s curatorial theme, In Minor Keys, by emphasising “tuning in rather than speaking for” the artworks. Building on my research in cross-modal perception and audience psychology, it uses experimental filmmaking to explore this topic beyond the limits of academic research.”
The School is proud to be supporting this initiative, which represents an opportunity to advance Fellows’ cultural leadership skills in a significant cultural environment on a global platform. We look forward to presenting the outcomes of the Fellows projects at the end of the Biennale, which will allow us to embed intercultural literacies and professional practice within our approach to offering professional practice development to our students.