For the first time, the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo’s traveling exhibitions program is coming to the city of La Paz, Bolivia, with a selection of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible.
Through a partnership with the Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and the Fundación Cultural del Banco Central de Bolivia, with the support of the Instituto Guimarães Rosa – MRE, the Museo Nacional de Arte (MNA) will host, from August 16 to October 20, a selection of nine participants who took part in the last edition of the exhibition – held from September 6 to December 10, 2023 – and now are part of the traveling exhibition that has already visited ten cities in Brazil and around the world.
Fundação Bienal de São Paulo has been running the one-of-a-kind traveling Bienal program since 2011, which marked the 29th edition of the show. The international stages of the 2024 traveling exhibitions program mark the first time that the Bienal is shown in Argentina, Bolivia and also the first time it will be seen on the African continent, in Angola.
Participants in the traveling exhibition at the Museo Nacional de Arte (MNA)
Ahlam Shibli
Bouchra Ouizguen
Cabello/Carceller
Carmézia Emiliano
Colectivo Ayllu
Melchor María Mercado
Min Tanaka, François Pain
stanley brouwn
Trinh T. Minh-ha
Curated by Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes and Manuel Borja-Villel, the highlight of this traveling exhibition is Melchor María Mercado (Sucre, Bolivia, 1816-1871), who worked as an artist, educator and, above all, explorer. Known for his interest in the natural sciences, he portrayed Bolivia’s visual landscapes in a plural and sensitive way. Years of field research resulted in the work entitled Álbum de paisajes, tipos humanos y costumbres de Bolivia [Album of Landscapes, Human Types and Customs], which is part of the selection of works taking part in the exhibition in La Paz.
Preserved in the Archivo y Biblioteca Nacionales de Bolivia, the more than one hundred watercolors that make up this cultural inventory were produced between the years 1841 and 1869, in the early years of the Republic of Bolivia. Contrary to traditional historiography, Mercado’s work is a unique graphic testimony about the nature, customs, and society of 19th-century Bolivia, depicting with precision the transition period from a colony to a republic in both the Andean and Amazonian regions.
Self-taught, the work of Melchor María Mercado holds great patrimonial and documentary significance for his country. For this reason, and in the context of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo, the Fundação Bienal had to engage in nearly a year of negotiations with the Bolivian government, mediated by the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, responsible for Brazil’s cultural diplomacy and affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since there was no legal framework for lending historical items to international institutions, a legal structure was created to facilitate the concession. Due to its historical importance and to document and publicize the event, the Fundação Bienal produced a video featuring testimonials from all involved parties and coverage of the transportation and installation process. YouTube link here.
Andrea Pinheiro, president of the Fundação Bienal, emphasizes the importance of the traveling exhibition in La Paz and celebrates the arrival of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo in Bolivia: “It is very significant for us to open this exhibition in Bolivia, especially because we have come closer to Bolivian culture and the Fundación Cultural del Banco Central de Bolivia through the work of Melchor María Mercado over the past year. More than establishing an exchange between cultural institutions, the initiative strengthens the bilateral relationship between neighboring countries and contributes to the internationalization of Brazilian art.”
“It is an honor for the Fundación Cultural del Banco Central de Bolivia to support the itinerancy in La Paz of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo. The unprecedented exhibition of Melchor María Mercado’s original works at the Museo Nacional de Arte will allow the Bolivian public to learn more about the legacy of one of the country’s most notable artists and scientists. The itinerancy in La Paz reaffirms the artistic exchange between art institutions in Latin America, highlighting our times and territories,” analyzes David Aruquipa Pérez, National Head of Cultural Management of the Fundación Cultural del Banco Central de Bolivia.
The 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible explores the complexities and urgencies of the contemporary world, addressing social, political, and cultural transformations. The curators seek to stress the spaces between the possible and the impossible, the visible and the invisible, the real and the imaginary, giving voice to diverse issues and perspectives in a poetic manner. Choreography, understood as a set of movements centered on the body that challenges limits, considers various trajectories and areas of action, creating strategies to face institutional and curatorial challenges. The choreographies of the impossible generate their own relationships, times, and spaces, offering a striking experience to visitors.
For the curators, it has always been crucial for the exhibition to reach cities other than São Paulo. According to them, “the debates proposed by the 35th Bienal cross countless territories around the world, so the fact that the choreographies of the impossible are not restricted to the Bienal Pavilion is extremely important for the work carried out”
Actions with the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo education team
During the traveling exhibitions, the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, together with its partner institutions, carries out two complementary educational work fronts. These are training actions with the city’s teams of mediators and educators, and dissemination actions for the public.
On Wednesday 14, the education team will present projects developed in the context of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible such as educational publications, mediated visits, courses and other actions to promote the Bienal, its history and the historic building it occupies. The purpose of the conversation is to share experiences of education in contemporary art, considering the diverse audiences and contexts in which they take place, and to create a dialogue with education professionals working in La Paz.
The Bienal’s education team proposes conversations about and with the three movements of the educational publication of the 35th Bienal. The educational publication of the choreographies of the impossible is divided into three different movements – or volumes – with content focused on mediation and promotion actions. The third movement, specially prepared for the traveling exhibitions program, was produced based on practices carried out throughout the exhibition at the Pavilion and is distributed free of charge to the participants. The meeting is influenced by the thoughts of poet, playwright, and Professor Leda Maria Martins, artist Rosana Paulino, curator and researcher Sandra Benites, Regina Aparecida Pereira and Cíntia Aparecida Delgado, leaders of the Quilombo Cafundó. The meeting with the educational publication will take place on Friday 16, from 10am to 12pm at the Museo Nacional de Arte.
On the same day, the 16, during the opening, Bienal’s education team will conduct in-person guided tours, lasting two hours. This tour invites the public to explore the traveling exhibition.
These initiatives aim to create a collaborative and dynamic learning environment, providing enriching experiences for teachers, educators, mediators, and art enthusiasts. With a focus on public interaction and the promotion of contemporary art, the program seeks to strengthen ties between cultural institutions and contribute to a more inclusive society.
35th Bienal de São Paulo – choreographies of the impossible
Traveling exhibitions program La Paz, Bolivia – Museo Nacional de Arte
curators: Diane Lima, Grada Kilomba, Hélio Menezes and Manuel Borja-Villel
free entry
opening: Fri 16 aug, 18h30 – 21h30
visitation: 16 aug – 20 oct 2024
Mon – Fri, 9am – 7pm
Sat, 9am – 5pm
Sun, 9am – 1pm
Comercio Street corner Socabaya 485, La Paz, Bolivia
Contemporary Art Educational Practices: The Experience of the Bienal de São Paulo
August 14, 2024
Wednesday, 7pm
Museo Nacional de Arte
Calle Comercio esquina Socabaya 485, La Paz, Bolivia
Meeting with the Educational Publication of the 35th Bienal
August 16, 2024
Friday, 10am
Museo Nacional de Arte
Calle Comercio esquina Socabaya 485, La Paz, Bolivia
Visit with the Bienal Education Team
August 16, 2024
Friday, 6:30pm (Exhibition Opening)
Museo Nacional de Arte
Calle Comercio esquina Socabaya 485, La Paz, Bolivia