Selection Panel for Wales in Venice 2026 announced

The Arts Council of Wales have announced the Selection Panel for Wales in Venice, an exhibition which will showcase Welsh art at the world-renowned Venice Biennale in 2026.

The full guidelines for Expressions of Interest for organisations to curate and deliver the Wales in Venice exhibition, went live on the arts.wales website on Tuesday 6 May 2025, and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 4 June 2025 at 1pm.

Professionals working in the visual arts with extensive international experience and networks were invited to join the Selection Panel, which will be chaired by Director of Arts at Arts Council of Wales, Catryn Ramasut.

For 2026, the Wales in Venice selection panel will include:

• Osei Bonsu, Curator of International Art at Tate Modern
• Harriet Cooper, Director of The Burton at Bideford Art Gallery and Museum
• Ceri Jones, Head of Arts, Amgueddfa Cymru
• Sook-Kyung Lee, Director of The Whitworth gallery, University of Manchester
• Louise Wright, Wales in Venice Project Lead, Arts Council of Wales

The selection panel’s primary purpose is to identify a creative project which:

• Demonstrates exceptional artistic quality and international potential
• Creates tangible benefits for Welsh visual arts practitioners
• Strengthens connections with both local and global audiences
• Delivers on our commitments to Welsh Language, Equalities and Engagement 

SELECTION PANEL BIOGRAPHIES

Osei Bonsu

Osei Bonsu is a British-Ghanaian curator and writer based in London and Paris. He is currently a curator of International Art at Tate Modern, where he is responsible for organising exhibitions, developing the museum’s collection and broadening the representation of artists from Africa and the African diaspora. As a leading curator of contemporary art, he has advised museums, art fairs and private collections internationally and mentored emerging artists through his digital platform, Creative Africa Network. 

Bonsu has worked as a contributing editor for Frieze magazine and has contributed to several exhibition catalogues and arts publications including ArtReview, Numero Art and Vogue. Through his writing, Bonsu focuses on the relationship between art and issues of migration, race and identity in contemporary society. He has lectured widely on these subjects at various institutions including the University of Cambridge, Courtauld Institute of Art, and Royal College of Art among others. Bonsu holds a Masters in History of Art from University College London, and a BA in Curatorial Studies from Central Saint Martins. In 2020, he was named as one of Apollo Magazine’s ‘40 under 40’ leading African voices.

Harriet Cooper

Harriet Cooper is a curator and researcher originally from Manchester, UK, who has worked with organisations including Jerwood Arts, nationally; UAL Art Collection, London; Southwark Park Galleries, London; Firstsite, Colchester; the British Council, internationally; Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield; and Tate Liverpool. In September 2024 she was appointed Director of The Burton at Bideford, one of the leading cultural venues in the South West of England.  

Harriet co-curated Phyllida Barlow’s commission folly for the British Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017 and sat on the Arts Council Collection Acquisitions Committee 2022-2025 chaired by Sir Nicholas Serota. As Head of Visual Arts for independent funder Jerwood Arts from 2018-22, she spearheaded new developmental and commissioning opportunities for early-career artists, curators and arts writers, including pioneering Jerwood Curatorial Accelerator and leading three editions of the touring exhibition Jerwood Survey which she remains Project Director of.  

Ceri Jones

Having been part of the team to realise Wales’ inaugural presence at the 50th Biennale in 2003, reimagining the opportunity for artists in 2026 and beyond is something Ceri is passionate about. Ceri is Head of Art for Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. She recently stepped into the role from having been Creative Director for a new initiative, CELF, the partnership of organisations working together to bring the national collection closer to communities across Wales. Prior to this, Ceri was Creative Director for Mission Gallery in Swansea and, over ten years, managed freelance arts projects through her co-founded partnership, Fieldwork. Earlier roles with the Arts Council of Wales, Wales Arts International and the Welsh Government have all contributed to her motivation to share and to celebrate creative practice. Much of her work has been locally focused and international in reach, establishing collaborations that have brought practitioners and organisations together over many years. 

Sook-Kyung Lee

Sook-Kyung Lee is Director of the Whitworth and Professor of Curatorial Practices at the University of Manchester. She was Artistic Director of the 14th Gwangju Biennale (2023), titled soft and weak like water, which explored themes of resistance, indigeneity, decoloniality and ecology. Prior to the Whitworth Lee was Senior Curator (International Art) at Tate Modern, working in exhibitions, collection displays and acquisitions. She also headed a major multi-year research initiative ‘Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational’ at Tate Modern, overseeing its strategic vision and associated programming. Lee served as the Commissioner and Curator of the Korea Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale and curated the Japan Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, represented by the artist Yuko Mohri. 

Louise Wright 

Louise Wright joined Arts Council of Wales in 2012 as a Portfolio Manager, following a 15-year career at British Council, where she worked with the British Council Collection, managed a global touring exhibitions programme and held roles in Turkey and Wales.  As Portfolio Manager and Project Lead for Wales in Venice Commissioning Team, she has led four of the nine editions of Wales’ presence at the Venice Biennale and the Wales Venice 10  programme. She brings extensive experience and strategic vision to support the visual arts in Wales to meet new challenges and deliver creative excellence.

Catryn Ramasut

The panel is Chaired by Catryn Ramasut. Appointed Director of Arts at the Arts Council of Wales in October, 2024, she is committed to revitalising Wales’s arts sector, striving to blend cultural sensitivity, strategic innovation and leadership to shape a forward-thinking vision for the arts in Wales, one that embraces diversity and nurtures creativity across the nation.

A Cardiff-born, Welsh-speaking woman of mixed heritage, Catryn has over 25 years of experience in the creative industries and arts organisations. As co-founder and Managing Director of ie ie Productions, Catryn has produced award-winning content that integrates various art forms and showcases Welsh culture globally, including "Separado!", "Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm", and "Black and Welsh".

Catryn has served as Chair of Creative Wales, is Wales’s representative on the DCMS's Creative Industries Council, and was recently appointed to the board of Welsh language channel S4C. In these roles, she has demonstrated her ability to provide strategic direction, foster growth in the creative industries, and champion diversity and inclusion.