29th São Paulo Biennial, 2010

The 29th edition of the São Paulo Biennial will take place from 21 September - 12 December with the general theme of "Art and Politics".

Chief curators:

Moacir dos Anjos
* 1963 Recife, Brazil. Has an economics degree, a master’s degree from the Universidade de Campinas, and a doctorate from the University of London. Researcher with Fundação Joaquim Nabuco since 1990 and director of Museu de Arte Moderna Aloisio Magalhães (Mamam) from 2001 to 2006.
more biographic data

Agnaldo Farias
Art critic and curator. Professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo.
more biographic data

Curatorial team:
Together with the two chief curators, a team of 5 foreign curators will assist in the selection of artists and in the conception of the exhibition.

Rina Carvajal
Adjunt curator at the Miami Art Museum. She was professor of history of arts at the universities of Caracas, Montreal, São Paulo and New York, and deputy director of the Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas.

Sarat Maharaj
Professor of Visual Art & Knowledge Systems, Lund University & Malmö Art Academy, Sweden. From 1980 -2005, professor of History & Theory of Art at Goldsmiths, London. Co-curator of Documenta XI (Kassel, Germany, 2002), and of Guangzhou Triennial (China, 2008).

Fernando Alvim
Artist and curator. Director of the Triennial of Arts in Luanda, Angola. Co-curator of the African presence at the 52th Venice Biennial, 2007.

Yuko Hasegawa
Chief curator at the Contemporary Art Museum of Tokyo. Artistic director of the 7th Istanbul Biennial (2001); co-curator of the 4th Shanghai Biennial (2002); commissioner of the Japanese pavilion at the 50th Venice Biennial (2003).

Chus Martínez
Chief curator at the Contemporary Art Museum of Barcelona. She was director of the Frankfurter Kunstverein (Germany). Between 2002 and 2005, curatorial projects at Sala Rekalde Bilbao.

According to Moacir dos Anjos, the presence of the seven curators doesn't mean that the next biennial will be segmented. There won't be an artists' list from each curator, nor any spatial separation in the exhibition. "We have invited these curators as interlocutors who will help us in the realization of an international biennial. They represent voices from different places, bringing in different perspectives in order to elaborate the platform Art and Politics."

Whereas 26 artists are already confirmed, until now only the names of Cildo Meireles and Arthur Barrio were announced, who belong to a generation of great trajectory since the 1960s, but who will conceive new art works for the biennial. The final selection will will be determined at the end of January 2010, which would also include several young artists.

The team of the 29th São Paulo Biennial is complemented by: Stella Barbieri (educational project), Marta Bogéa (exhibition design), André Stolarski (graphic design), Jacopo Crivelli Visconti (relations with foreign institutions) and Helmut Batista (curator of the residency program).

In the first information published by the São Paulo Biennial Foundation in July 2009, Moacir dos Anjos had declared that the Biennial's theme is inspired by a line of the poet Jorge de Lima (1895-1953): "Há sempre um copo de mar para um homem navegar" (There is always a glass of sea for a man to navigate).

With its almost 60 years of history, the next edition of the Biennial will offer a pluralist and integrative vision of art, reaffirming the relevance of the institution as one of the pillars of contemporary art in the world, as stated by director Heitor Martins.

According to curator Moacir dos Anjos, the 29th edition, organized from a discursive platform, will underline the ambiguous character of art, which translates at the same time the experience of the world and produces a vision potentially able to transform this experience.

This discursive platform will be guided by a number of main concepts. Among others, the relation between aesthetics and politics contained in the arts will play a major role, in particular in the face of conflict times. Following its tradition, the biennial will feature works from all over the world, but bringing them closer to the Brazilian selection, suggesting an investigation originated in Brazil, which will enable the local production to be seen from a new perspective.

Another characteristic of the biennial, the experimentation, will be emphasized with the objective, on one hand, of distinguishing the event from art fairs and museums, and on the other, to live up to the experimental character inherent to art itself: "Art is an experimental exercise of freedom" (Mário Pedrosa). Moacir dos Anjos adds to this statement: "Through the exhibition, we will be able to cut breaches into the existing concepts of life. Contemporary art is often considered as hermetic, however it can express things which are closest to us. These issues are the ones which make art possible to be understood."

From a press release of the organizer.
© Translation from Portuguese: Haupt & Binder

Organizer:

Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

Parque Ibirapuera, Portão 3
04094-000 - São Paulo - SP
Brasil

Phone: (55 11) 5576-7600
Fax: (55 11) 5549-0230

Website: bienalsaopaulo.globo.com/artes/index.asp

Press contact:
A4 Comunicação
Mai Carvalho, Jennifer Queen

Phone: (5511) 3897 4134
Email: jenniferqueen@a4com.com.br

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Note:
The facts have been compiled from information of the organizer. We do not assume responsibility regarding the correctness of this information. See the Disclaimer.
Gerhard Haupt and Pat Binder, Universes in Universe

See also in Universes in Universe:

Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo
Since 1957, the São Paulo Biennial takes place at this venue in the Parque do Ibirapuera.

27th São Paulo Biennial, 2006
Chief curator: Lisette Lagnado. Information and extensive photo tour, including works by 35 participants.