Andrea Mancini and Every Island: A Comparative Dialogue Act

Press preview days: April 16–19
Press preview: Wednesday, April 17, 11am. With a performance by Selin Davasse (RSVP before April 11).
Official opening: April 18, 4pm. With a performance by Selin Davasse at 4:30pm. 

The Luxembourg Pavilion is pleased to present A Comparative Dialogue Act, a project by the Luxembourgish artist Andrea Mancini and the multidisciplinary collective Every Island, curated by Joel Valabrega, Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, at the 2024 Venice Biennale.       

A Comparative Dialogue Act has been conceived as an infrastructure for the transmission of sound—a shared production space challenging the entrenched notion of individual artistic authorship. Throughout the duration of the Biennale, the pavilion is hosting four guest artists who will produce and present new sound performances, thereby expanding the definition of the collective artwork: Selin Davasse (b.1992, Ankara), Célin Jiang (b.1993, France), Stina Fors (b.1989, Sweden) and Bella Báguena (b. 1994, Valencia). In this context, the notion of openness is not bound to the absence of limits, but rather to the appropriation of ‘the other’ and its contribution to collective and open-ended scenarios. Sound and space are tuned: the spatial elements—floor, walls, ceiling—are turned into sound devices, progressively shaping an immersive experience. Technology is used to develop this localised experiment through which artists and audience consider the conditions under which knowledge is transmitted and shared. The title, A Comparative Dialogue Act, encapsulates the nature of this experimental project—an exploration of diverse sonic languages and a contemplation of dialogue, into the immersive world of sound as a tool for negotiation. The pavilion is at once the space where the soundscape is produced, and where it is played—the studio and the stage—in a gesture of radical transparency.

Artistic programme
An unprecedented collaboration between four emerging artists from diverse backgrounds, the programme brings together Spanish musician and performer Bella Báguena, French transdisciplinary artist Célin Jiang, Ankara-born performance artist Selin Davasse and Swedish artist Stina Fors to present four intersecting approaches to the multiple ways identity, performance and sound can meet. The defining link between their artistic practices is the choice of sound as their medium. The artists will never physically cross paths during their respective residencies: they shared a collection of their sounds before the opening of the pavilion as a basis for their work and will each leave one after their passage. Thus, at once tapping into an existing sound library and in turn forming a new one, each artist produces a soundscape—a synthesis of their own work and the traces left by their peers.

A Comparative Dialogue Act brings these works together and provides the stage for a broad composition of these singular voices, converging in one sound artwork that aims to push the boundaries of collective art production.

During the opening week, Selin Davasse, who makes research-based performances, repurposes literary and performative techniques to envision alternative pasts, presents and speculative futures, will perform in the Luxembourg Pavilion.

Further information
Further information can be found in the press release. For press images, the press dossier and more information, please refer to the press kit on the official website here (press section). Follow updates via the Luxembourg Pavilion official Instagram account.

Press preview
There will be a dedicated press preview on April 17, 11h00—12h00 at the Luxembourg Pavilion. Please register here by April 11, 2023. Please note that accreditation to the Arte Biennale 2024 is required to access the venues and attend the Press Preview at the Luxembourg Pavilion. Accreditation for Arte Biennale 2024 must be required directly by the Biennale Press Office before Friday, April 5 here.

Individual interviews upon request.
For international press requests please contact Sam Talbot PR
Kitty Malton at kitty [​at​] sam-talbot.com / T +44 7514 803577
and Alicia Lethbridge at alicia [​at​] sam-talbot.com / T +44 07526204773

For national press requests please contact Kultur | lx—Arts Council Luxembourg
Emilie Gouleme at emilie.gouleme [​at​] kulturlx.lu / T +352 621 680 028.

For Mudam Luxembourg - Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean please contact
Julie Jephos at j.jephos [​at​] mudam.lu / T +352 453785-633

Commissioner appointed by the ministry of Culture Luxembourg: Kultur | lx—Arts Council Luxembourg
Organiser: Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
Curator: Joel Valabrega, Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
Assistant Curator: Nathalie Lesure, Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean
Artists: Andrea Mancini and Every Island

Performing artists
Selin Davasse—Residency: April 8–21; Performances: April 17–21
Célin Jiang—Residency: June 24–30; Performances: June 29–30
Stina Fors—Residency: July 18–28; Performances: July 27–28
Bella Báguena—Residency: September 9–15; Performances: September 13–14
The exhibition is accessible for the public during the Residency periods according to Arsenale’s opening hours.

Sponsors: LuXembourg—Let’s Make it Happen, Oeuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, The Loo & Lou Foundation
Project sponsor: SAHA provided support for Selin Davasse
Aknowledgement: luca—Luxembourg Center for Architecture, Luxembourg Embassy in Rome, Radio 100,7

Date and venue
60th International Venice Biennale
Luxembourg Pavilion, Arsenale, Sale d’Armi 1st floor,
Sestiere Castello, Campo Della Tana 2169/F, 30122 Venice
April 20–November 24