Our correspondent Michaela Bear had a chance to visit the 22nd Biennale of Sydney days before it closed to the public on Tuesday, 24 March 2020. Her reports describes an exhibition giving voice to under-represented communities, issues and histories…
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The biennial franchise has arrived – in Al-Ula and on Instagram
by Melissa Gronlund
When Desert X – a young biennial from California – announced it would be producing an exhibition in the Saudi desert site of Al-Ula, it ignited a firestorm of international opposition. Three board members resigned, including Ed Ruscha, in order to protest the collaboration with the Saudi state. Discussions about boycotts dominated coverage…
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Bangkok Biennial 2020 Open Call for Pavilions
The Bangkok Biennial 2020 will take place from October to December, 2020. It will maintain the open source structure with no central curator or dictation. The organizers believe that this reflects and echoes the mood and general exasperation in regard to power mongering in every sphere of top-down dictatorial structures seen in contemporary Thailand, the region and perhaps the entire world at this moment.
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Aichi Triennale’s controversial exhibition will be restaged in Taiwan
The exhibition After ‘Freedom of Expression?’ organized as part of the Aichi Triennale which caused controversy last year will be re-staged this Spring in Taiwan, the Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art in announced.
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Cecilia Alemani appointed as Artistic Director of Venice Biennale 2021
Cecilia Alemani has been appointed as the Artistic Director of the Visual Arts Department, with the task of planning and curating the coming 59th Exhibition. On the occasion of her …
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Aichi Triennale tests the limits of freedom of expression in Japan
Vincent Pruden talks to the Aichi Triennale’s Chief Curator, Iida Shihoko.
When shown at Gallery Furuto in Tokyo in 2015, the Freedom of Expression?, exhibition assembling works that had earlier been rejected or removed by other exhibition organizers in Japan amid controversy, went almost unnoticed. When the updated version of the show opened as part of the 2019 Aichi Triennale, earlier this year, it ignited extreme reactions and re-opened debate over the increasing prevalence of censorship in Japan. Vincent Pruden talks to the Aichi Triennale’s Chief Curator, IIDA Shihoko about the aftermath of the controversy which represents a serious threat to the future existence of one of the most important biennials in Asia.
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Desert X Saudi Arabia franchise prompts three board members to resign
Desert X, the biennial of public art taking place in Coachella Valley has announced its first international franchise in Saudi Arabia. Three of 14 members on the organization’s board of directors resigned over the decision, including: artists Ed Ruscha, art historian and curator Yael Lipschutz and philanthropist Tristan Milanovich.
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Aichi Triennale organizes International Forum amid accusations of alleged censorship
Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee has organized a forum to publicly discuss the conflict between the Triennale organizers and some of the participating artists, who explained their positions in the open letter IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION published on our website in August.
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Bruno Latour and Martin Guinard announce the concept for Taipei Biennial 2020
The curators of the Taipei Biennial 2020, Bruno Latour and Martin Guinard announced the concept for the upcoming exhibition. Having recently arrived in Taiwan to conduct a curatorial research trip, they officially shared their curatorial concept and research plan for the upcoming Taipei Biennial, to be titled: “You and I don’t live on the same planet”— New Diplomatic Encounters.
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Artists condemn the decision to close part of the Aichi Triennale as an act of censorship
Ten artists participating in the Aichi Triennale demand to remove their works from the festival in an open letter. The signatories include Tania Bruguera, Pia Camil, Dora García, Claudia Martínez …
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Call for Papers: ‘Biennialization and its counternarratives’ panel at the 108th CAA Annual Conference
The College Art Association (CAA) announces a Call for Papers for the 108th Annual Conference to be held in Chicago, 12-15 February 2020. From medieval art to the legacies of contemporary figures like Okwui Enwezor and Carolee Schneemann, the 2020 Annual Conference offers an enormous range of topics to explore. The confirmed sessions include ‘Biennialization and its counternarratives’ chaired by Biennial Foundation Director, Rafal Niemojewski.
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Pristina Appointed Host City of Manifesta 14 in 2022
Manifesta, the European nomadic biennial, announces Pristina, capital of Kosovo, as the first Balkan host city for the 14th edition of Manifesta in 2022. Since its inception in the early …
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