Biennials, biennials, biennials...

Organization:  Ivo Mesquita, Michael Asbury, Marieke van Hal.

Considering the fact that there currently exist over two hundred biennials around the world, all involved with practically the same issues and circulating a variety of artistic practices in a normative manner, the project for the 28th Bienal de São Paulo proposes a reflection on this seasonal exhibition model and its application to different contexts.

This cycle is divided into two subthemes.

The Bienal Seen from Outside

This cycle’s main object of analysis is the Bienal de São Paulo itself. Art historians and international curators will show how the Bienal de São Paulo is seen outside the borders of its country of origin.
The aim is to diagnose the preconceptions that have guided, since 1951, the choices made by governmental agencies around the world at the time of deciding on their national participations. Since one of the guiding principles of the 28th Bienal de São Paulo is a reflection on the history of the institution itself, it becomes fundamental to open the debate to voices from the outside, seeking to weave a cartography of the Bienal de São Paulo through a multiplicity of viewpoints. While the cycle “The Bienal de São Paulo and the Brazilian Artistic Milieu: Memory and Projection” contributes to this construction with statements provided through an internal perspective, “The Bienal Seen from Outside” will do so through an external perspective.

The Typologies of Biennials

This cycle aims to speculate on a possible typology of biennials and seasonal exhibitions, as well as their different objectives and means of development. Directors and curators of fifteen projects will speak of their experiences and methodologies in the organization of exhibitions within the biennial model in different countries of the world, giving the public an opportunity to better understand their functions, structures and motivations. Thus, it seeks to map the existing landscape of the biennial culture within the international art circuit, so that future paths may be considered for exhibitions of this nature.

Entry to all events is free of charge, first come first served.

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