A few biennials for the next few months
The first of these events, the Turkish 11th Istanbul Biennial, will take place between the 12th of September and the 8th of November, 2009. The title of this edition of the biennial has been taken from a text written by Bertolt Brecht which has been turned into a song: “WHAT KEEPS MANKIND ALIVE?” The curatorship of this event has been carried out by the collective What, How and for Whom/WHW, which is made up of four female curators who have selected 120 projects by 70 artists from 40 countries. As is well-known, this Biennial takes place in a range of historical spaces in the city which, along with its gradual internationalisation, is one of its most attractive features.
The next must-see event is the 10th Lyon Biennial, which will take place between the 16th of September, 2009, and the 3rd of January, 2010, and whose catch-cry is The Spectacle of the Day-to-Day. It has been curated by Hou Hanrou and will display the work of more than 50 artists from all five continents.
Another event which cannot be missed comes from Latin America, with the 7th Mercosur Biennial, which is presided by a striking title: El grito y la escucha [The Scream and the Listening]. This edition proposes, according to its organisers, “to return to the artist his or her role as social agent and constant producer of a necessary critical sense, by setting his or her gaze at the very heart of each of the biennial’s exhibitions and programmes. In this way, the artists have been the ones to organise the exhibitions, developing educational tools and programmes, and heading the public relations and publishing departments of the event.” The large curatorial team is headed by Victoria Noorthoorn (Argentina) and Camilo Yáñez (Chile), who have selected to the work of, among others, Roberto Jacoby and Erick Beltrán. Thanks to its conceptual and organisational approach, it seems the event will be highly suggestive.
There are also triennial events to look forward. Between the 4th of September and the 8th of November the 10th Baltic Triennial will take place in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius, under the title of Urban Stories. It has been curated by Ann Demeester and Kestutis Kuizinas.
Lastly, it is still possible (until the 23rd of September) to visit the 4th Echigo-Tsumari Triennial, in Japan, which this year has been entitled Humanity as Part of Nature, and whose most outstanding feature is the fact that it takes places in the midst of nature, with the artists’ interventions being conducted in rice paddies, old schools at rural spaces, whose inhabitants have contributed to the work.
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