A conversation with pioneering Ghanaian-born British artist, John Akomfrah on the occasion of his commission for the British Pavilion, at the 60th Venice Biennale. Akomfrah discusses early childhood memories in both Ghana and the UK, his love of filmmaking as a medium, and his experience with national representation at the Venice Biennale, having been part of the Ghanaian pavilion in 2015, and now being the sole artist to represent Britain in 2024. This episode also features a conversation with the brilliant curator of Listening All Night to The Rain, Tarini Malik.

This episode was recorded at the British Pavilion in Venice, at the 60th Biennale of Art – which is often dubbed the “Olympics of the art world”. Several countries have pavilions which are transformed by artists who have been selected, by various powers that be, to represent their nation. Some of these pavilions are in the Giardini – Gardens – of the Biennale, and have long histories of involvement with the event, while others exist outside of this space – in buildings throughout the city, or in the Arsenale, a nearby location which also hosts national pavilions and collateral exhibitions. 

The British Council commission Listening All Night To The Rain at the 60th Venice Biennale runs from Saturday 20 April to Sunday 24 November 2024. If you are not able to visit Venice, the exhibition will be travelling to locations in the UK afterwards.

Thank you to the British Council for taking me to Venice, and to Tarini and John for their generous insights.