CHANEL Connects

Season Four of CHANEL Connects, the flagship arts and culture podcast, concludes with Adriano Pedrosa, curator of the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale and the Artistic Director of the São Paulo Museum of Art. In conversation with Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts & Culture at CHANEL, Pedrosa discusses the theme for this year’s Biennale: Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere, and how an exhibition can "reinforce what truly matters."

At the Palazzo Persico, the world-famous designers Michael Rock and Irma Boom reflect on Venice’s pivotal role in the history of book publishing – and its influence on generations of contemporary artists. Michael is the co-founder of 2x4, while Boom has designed more than 300 books across her career. Together, they explore how, more than 500 years ago, Venice revolutionised art, a legacy that continues to this day.

This episode connects two artists from countries uniquely impacted by climate change. Representing Iceland and Hong Kong, Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir and Trevor Yeung are navigating this year’s Venice Biennale and Venice as a city, much the way they treat their island homes. At the Conservatorio di Musica, looking out onto the Italian canals, they discuss how art can inspire action in the natural world.

What makes a great curator, and what brings them to the Venice Biennale, without fail, for the past two decades? In this episode, distinguished curators from the museum world connect to share their stories of seeing and discovery. Simon Castets, Director of Strategic Initiatives at LUMA Arles in France, speaks with Courtney J. Martin, Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in New York. Together, they discuss how the biennale shapes the coming trends in the international art scene.

The South African multidisciplinary artist William Kentridge and the famed curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev have created some of the most resonant work of their time. These two giants of the art world discuss the Venice installation of William’s film Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot, Carolyn’s work as the former director of the Castello di Rivoli museum in Italy, and the origins of their long and rich creative relationship.

Julien Creuzet, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists, connects with Alvin Li, Curator of International Art at the Tate Modern in London. Julien is a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris and the first French-Caribbean artist to represent France at the Venice Biennale. Supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund, his exhibition blends sculpture and film with poetry and music, transforming the France Pavilion. In a conversation with Alvin Li at Palazzo Pisani Moretta, Julien revisits his childhood on the island of Martinique and reflects on art’s unique capacity to unearth untold stories.

We connect two remarkable women from the international gallery scene – the legendary Sadie Coles, who has shaped the art world for decades, and Angelina Volk, a prominent young gallerist who is set to do the same for the next generation. Sadie founded her eponymous gallery in central London in 1997; Angelina founded EMALIN gallery in east London nearly twenty years later. Together, Sadie and Angelina discuss how the Venice Biennale sets the international art agenda - and how working with artists is a great love affair.

Recorded at Venice’s Conservatorio di Musica, this episode explores art collectives, performance and the power of sound. Actress Vicky Krieps, star of Phantom Thread and Corsage, connects with the artist and musician Andrea Mancini and Every Island art collective, who are presenting work at the Luxembourg Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Vicky reveals how she writes music to better understand her characters, while Every Island discuss how sound enables them to work in a truly collective way.

For the Venice Biennale Edition of CHANEL’s flagship arts and culture podcast, Andrew Durbin, author and Editor-in-Chief of Frieze magazine, connects with Kimberly Drew, author, critic and Curatorial Director at Pace Gallery. Kimberly has developed a huge online following for the way she uses emerging platforms to communicate about art. And, as the editor of Frieze, Andrew is one of the most influential writers on art in the world. Together, they discuss the evolution of art in the digital age and explore how the Venice Biennale came to be the centrepiece of the global art community.

Welcome to Season 4 of CHANEL Connects.

This series takes you to the Venice Biennale—the essential cultural event of 2024— where leading artists, curators, gallerists, and thinkers join CHANEL’s flagship arts and culture podcast. Through a series of generous and revealing conversations, each episode explores the defining issues of our time. Listen in now, and let’s connect!