SITE Santa Fe will relaunch its its biennial SITE SANTA FE International (formerly known as the SITE SANTA FE Biennial) in 2025, seven years after the last edition held in 2018. Cecilia Alemani will curate the 12th opening in the summer of 2025 and running through early 2026.
Since its creation in 1995, the International has served as a model for international contemporary art exhibitions and inspired countless exhibitions of its kind globally. As the anchor of SITE SANTA FE’s programming, it has served as the foundation for robust year-round programming at the institution, which is in keeping with the artist-centric approach of the SITE SANTA FE International, allowing artists to realize work they wouldn’t be able to create elsewhere.
“The SITE Santa Fe International has systematically shifted paradigms and conversations around globalization and the lure of the local, to quote celebrated New Mexico author, Lucy R. Lippard,” said Alemani. “Santa Fe has long impacted artists and writers, serving as a sanctuary, a refuge, and a source for creativity. The region’s rich cultural tapestry is woven through generations and across multiple languages and worldviews, making the International unique among exhibitions of its kind. I admire both its international scope and the sharpness that comes with its focused scale, and I am eager to work in this atmosphere of vibrant creativity that draws artists from around the world while also nurturing a thriving local art scene.”
The appointment of Alemani continues the special historical ties of the International to the Venice Biennale. Alemani will be the fourth curator to organize both the International and Venice Biennale exhibitions. The 12th International in 2025 will follow SITE SANTA FE’s role as co-presenter, along with the Portland Art Museum, of the U.S. Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024, with a presentation of Jeffrey Gibson, with Louis Grachos serving as one of three commissioners. During Grachos’ previous tenure at SITE SANTA FE, he also oversaw the 1997 groundbreaking presentation of Robert Colescott as the first Black artist to represent the United States in a single-artist exhibition.
Cecilia Alemani is an Italian curator based in New York City. Over the past twenty years, Alemani has developed an expertise in commissioning and producing ambitious artworks for the public space and unusual sites.
From 2020 to 2022, she served as artistic director of the 59th Venice Biennale, where she curated the acclaimed exhibition The Milk of Dreams, which was visited by over 800,000 visitors. She also served as artistic director of the inaugural edition of Art Basel Cities: Buenos Aires in 2018 and was the curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017. Since 2011, she has been the Donald R. Mullen, Jr. Director & Chief Curator of High Line Art, the public art program presented by the High Line in New York City.
Photo: Liz Ligon, courtesy of the Highline