The artist and film-maker John Akomfrah will represent the UK at the Venice Biennale in 2024, the British Council has announced.

Akomfrah, who was honoured with a knighthood in the 2023 honours list, is known for his art films and multiscreen video installations exploring issues such as racial injustice, diasporic identities, migration and climate breakdown. Next year the Ghanaian-born artist’s work will fill the British pavilion at Venice from April until November.

Akomfrah, 65, initially came to prominence in the early 1980s as a founder of the Black Audio Film Collective (BAFC), one of the first groups to challenge how the black British community were represented on screen and in the media. The BAFC’s first film, Handsworth Songs, explored the events around the 1985 riots in Birmingham and London through a combination of archive footage, still photos, newly shot material and newsreel.

The British Council has been responsible for the British pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1937. Artists including recent Golden Lion winner Sonia Boyce, Tracey Emin, Phyllida Barlow and Steve McQueen have all represented the UK in the past.

Skinder Hundal, global director of arts at the British Council and commissioner of the British pavilion, said: “With a career spanning four decades, the judges felt that Akomfrah had made a very significant contribution to the UK and international contemporary art scene. John’s inspiring style and narrative has continuously evolved, revealing key ideas and questions about the world we inhabit.

“The quality and contextual depth of his artistry never fails to inspire deep reflection and awe. For the British Council to have such a significant British-Ghanaian artist in Venice is an exhilarating moment.”