Genealogies and Woven Light Rewrite the Map at Venice’s Golden Lions

Indigenous voices took center stage at the 2024 Venice Biennale, turning the spotlight onto histories and traditions often left in the margins. Australia’s Archie Moore stunned audiences with a sprawling, hand-drawn family tree stretching back 65,000 years, mapping his Kamilaroi, Bigambul, British, and Scottish roots. His installation, layered with documents on Indigenous deaths in custody, confronted the harsh realities of colonial legacies and institutional injustice. Meanwhile, the Mataaho Collective from Aotearoa (New Zealand) transformed ancestral textile techniques into a luminous woven structure, their work filling the international exhibition with shifting patterns of light and memory. This year’s Biennale didn’t just hand out awards—it reframed the conversation, elevating Indigenous narratives and creative power on a global stage. When art weaves together past and present, the world’s gaze begins to shift. #VeniceBiennale #IndigenousArt #ContemporaryArt