Venice Fellowship, August 24

First Week in Venice

Rachel Hutchison, Outer Spaces Fellow at the Venice Biennale

Image: Venice Fellows at The British Pavilion, 2024. Courtesy of Rachel Hutchison

Earlier this year we began working with the British Council as a partner on their Venice Fellowships programme. As Outer Spaces Fellow, Edinburgh based artist, Rachel Hutchison will spend a month in Venice, conducting a self-directed research project alongside working as an Exhibition Ambassador at the British Pavilion during John Akomfrah's exhibition Listening All Night To The Rain.

After a little time settling in to her home for the month, Rachel shared a few thoughts with us, reflecting on her experience so far.

'My first week in Venice has been so immersive, I believe it may actually be impossible to not be artistically inspired here. Surrounded by art, history, and new connections with my fellow colleagues. Every day feels like I’m absorbing as much as possible, almost as if I were about to go home soon, even though I still have a long time ahead.

My mind maps for new projects, collaborations, and artistic ideas are now sprawling along the length of my hallway. I’m incredibly grateful to be here and want to extend my deepest thanks to the British Council, OuterSpaces, and everyone involved for making this opportunity possible.

Having spent a week delving into John Akomfrah’s commission, I still feel there’s so much more to experience. Listening All Night to the Rain is a piece that continues to unfold with each encounter. When you start unpacking it, you realize the work may never be fully complete.

Images: Venice Fellows at the Venice Biennale 2024. Courtesy of Rachel Hutchison

One of my favorite sentiments to share with visitors of the Biennale is a quote from an interview with Polyester where John said, “For me, artworks are not a space for pedagogy. You’re not trying to teach people anything—I just want them to emerge in a certain emotional state, heightened or otherwise… just to be one with this place.”

Above the entrance to one room, a text quotes 20th-century US composer Pauline Oliveros: “Listen to everything until it all belongs together and you are part of it.” This perfectly encapsulates the atmosphere here. Even a first encounter is so immersive that it sparks a curiosity to return and delve deeper into the stories, histories, and messages within the work. It’s been lovely to spend days with this art, allowing it to sink into my feelings.

As OuterSpaces is a Scottish charity, we’ve had discussions about Scotland’s presence—or current lack thereof—at the Biennale. Though I hadn’t initially planned to focus my research on this topic, I quickly realized how prominent it felt to me. This has been an unexpected but beautiful aspect of my time here. The Biennale brings together people from all over the world, and my fellow fellows embody this global diversity. Representing the British Council and Pavilion, we each have different connections to Britishness—some through birth, some through relocation, and some through studies. This multiculturalism has been a wonderful catalyst for cultural reflection, prompting me to think deeply about my identity, particularly as a Scottish person but also as a queer, working-class artist.

I’m continuing to explore the concept of listening and working with others to articulate their narratives. For now, my first week has been a week of beginning to listen - to myself, to my colleagues and to the art.'

Rachel Hutchison painting on the rooftop of her apartment in Venice. Video courtesy of the artist.

Read more articles about the Fellowship here.

Full details of the Venice Fellowships programme can be found on the British Council's website here.

Listening All Night To The Rain, John Akomfrah’s British Council Commission for the British Pavilion will run from 20 April – 24 November 2024. More details here.

Find out more about Rachel Hutchison