The 28th São Paulo Biennial directed by Ivo Mesquita seeks to rethink the way in which the São Paulo Biennial Foundation has been producing the successive editions since 1951, opening up an interlude of reflection in the exhibition’s history.
The 28th Biennial takes the biennial as its theme, and poses questions such as:

• How does the São Paulo Biennial evaluate the biennial phenomenon, propagated through the so-called peripheral countries or
  in regions of political or cultural tension?
• What is a biennial’s role in the era of globalization?
• What role do biennials play for the cultural, tourism and event industry?
• What can São Paulo Biennial contribute to the discussion given its experience, being one of the oldest organization of this kind?

A series of discussions on the subject of biennials will take place every Saturday throughout the exhibition. On 21 November 2008 Marieke van Hal will moderate
one of these discussions entitled Motivations, Expectations, Effects.
The invited speakers include: Barbara Vanderlinden (founding director Brussels Biennial, Belgium), Khalil Rabah (founding director Riwaq Biennial, Palestine), João Carlos Silva (founding director São Tome e Príncipe Biennial), Adelaide Ginga (curator São Tome e Príncipe Biennial).