Biennale (Italian: [bi.enˈnaːle]), Italian for "biennial" or "every other year", is any event that happens every two years. It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions. As such the term was popularised by Venice Biennale, which was first held in 1895. Since the 1990s, the terms "biennale" and "biennial" have been interchangeably used in a more generic way - to signify a large-scale international survey show of contemporary art that recurs at regular intervals but not necessarily biannual (such as triennials, Documenta, Skulptur Projekte Münster).[1] The phrase has also been used for other artistic events, such as the "Biennale de Paris", "Kochi-Muziris Biennale", Berlinale (for the Berlin International Film Festival) and Viennale (for Vienna's international film festival).
According to author Federica Martini, what is at stake in contemporary biennales is the diplomatic/international relations potential as well as urban regeneration plans. Besides being mainly focused on the present (the “here and now” where the cultural event takes place and their effect of "spectacularisation of the everyday"), because of their site-specificity cultural events may refer back to,[who?] produce or frame the history of the site and communities' collective memory.[2]
The Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, in 1851, the first attempt to condense the representation of the world within a unitary exhibition space.
A strong and influent symbol of biennales and of large-scale international exhibitions in general is the Crystal Palace, the gigantic and futuristic London architecture that hosted the Great Exhibition in 1851. According to philosopher Peter Sloterdijk,[3][page needed] the Crystal Palace is the first attempt to condense the representation of the world in a unitary exhibition space, where the main exhibit is society itself in an a-historical, spectacular condition. The Crystal Palace main motives were the affirmation of British economic and national leadership and the creation of moments of spectacle. In this respect, 19th century World fairs provided a visual crystallization of colonial culture and were, at the same time, forerunners of contemporary theme parks.
The Venice Biennale as an archetype
The structure of the Venice Biennale in 2005 with an international exhibition and the national pavilions.
The Venice Biennale, a periodical large-scale cultural event founded in 1895, served as an archetype of the biennales. Meant to become a World Fair focused on contemporary art, the Venice Biennale used as a pretext the wedding anniversary of the Italian king and followed up to several national exhibitions organised after Italy unification in 1861. The Biennale immediately put forth issues of city marketing, cultural tourism and urban regeneration, as it was meant to reposition Venice on the international cultural map after the crisis due to the end of the Grand Tour model and the weakening of the Venetian school of painting. Furthermore, the Gardens where the Biennale takes place were an abandoned city area that needed to be re-functionalised. In cultural terms, the Biennale was meant to provide on a biennial basis a platform for discussing contemporary art practices that were not represented in fine arts museums at the time. The early Biennale model already included some key points that are still constitutive of large-scale international art exhibitions today: a mix of city marketing, internationalism, gentrification issues and destination culture, and the spectacular, large scale of the event.
Biennials after the 1990s
The situation of biennials has changed in the contemporary context: while at its origin in 1895 Venice was a unique cultural event, but since the 1990s hundreds of biennials have been organized across the globe. Given the ephemeral and irregular nature of some biennials, there is little consensus on the exact number of biennials in existence at any given time.[citation needed] Furthermore, while Venice was a unique agent in the presentation of contemporary art, since the 1960s several museums devoted to contemporary art are exhibiting the contemporary scene on a regular basis. Another point of difference concerns 19th century internationalism in the arts, that was brought into question by post-colonial debates and criticism of the contemporary art “ethnic marketing”, and also challenged the Venetian and World Fair’s national representation system. As a consequence of this, Eurocentric tendency to implode the whole word in an exhibition space, which characterises both the Crystal Palace and the Venice Biennale, is affected by the expansion of the artistic geographical map to scenes traditionally considered as marginal. The birth of the Havana Biennial in 1984 is widely considered an important counterpoint to the Venetian model for its prioritization of artists working in the Global South and curatorial rejection of the national pavilion model.
International biennales
In the term's most commonly used context of major recurrent art exhibitions:
^Niemojewski, Rafal (2021). Biennials : the exhibitions we love to hate. London. ISBN978-1-84822-388-2. OCLC 1205590577.
^Vittoria Martini e Federica Martini, Just another exhibition. Histories and politics of biennials, Postmedia Books, 2011 ISBN88-7490-060-0, ISBN978-88-7490-060-2.
^"In Guatemala, the Bienal de Arte Paiz Offers an Object Lesson in Community-Based Art Done Right". artnet News. September 7, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
^ArtReview: World’s 'smallest' biennial on Ilet la Biche, Guadeloupe
^"Welcome to the world's smallest art fair – on a disappearing speck of sand". The Guardian. January 24, 2017.
^"Biennale WRO". WRO ART CENTER. November 24, 2009.
Further reading
Filipovic, Elena (2010). Marieke van Hal, Solveig Øvsteø (ed.). The Biennial Reader. Bergen, Norway: Bergen Biennial Conference.
(Spanish) Niemojewski, Rafal (2013) “Venecia o La Habana: Una polémica sobre la génesis de la bienal contemporánea.” Denken Pensée Thought Mysl... Criterios, Issue 47 (October).
(Spanish) Ojeda, D, de la Nuez, R (eds), Trazos discontinuos. Antología crítica sobre las bienales de arte en Asia Pacífico. (Discontinuous strokes. Critical anthology of art biennials in Asia Pacific). Leiden: Almenara Press. ISBN 978-94-92260-47-5
Jones, Caroline (March 29, 2006). "Biennial Culture". Institute national d’histoire de l’art, Paris. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
(in English and Italian) Vittoria Martini e Federica Martini, Just another exhibition. Histories and politics of biennials, Postmedia Books, 2011 ISBN88-7490-060-0, ISBN978-88-7490-060-2
Federica Martini, Cultural event in Mobile A2K Methodology guide, 2002.
Manifesta Journal No 2 Winter 2003/ Spring 2004 - Biennials. Artimo Foundation. June 1, 2003. ISBN90-75380-95-X.
Morris, Jane (May 1, 2019). "Why is the Venice Biennale still so important?". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
Niemojewski, Rafal (2006) "Whence Come You, and Whither Are you Going? On the Memory and Identity of Biennials" Manifesta Journal, MJ – Journal of Contemporary Curatorship, N°6 Winter 2005/06
Niemojewski, Rafal (2014) ”Turning the Tide: the oppositional past and uncertain future of the contemporary biennial” Seismopolite: Journal of Art and Politics, Volume 1, Issue 6, (February).
Niemojewski, Rafal (2018) “Contemporary Art Biennials: Decline or Resurgence?” Cultural Politics, Duke University Press, Volume 14, Issue 1, (Spring).
Niemojewski, Rafal (2021) Biennials: The Exhibitions We Love to Hate, Lund Humphries. ISBN 9781848223882
Vanderlinden, Barbara (June 2, 2006). Elena Filipovic (ed.). The Manifesta Decade: Debates on Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Biennials in Post-Wall Europe (illustrated ed.). The MIT Press. ISBN0-262-22076-8.
External links
Biennial Foundation site dedicated to biennales around the world
"Global Exhibitions: Contemporary Art and the African Diaspora". Liverpool. February 19, 2010.
Byrne, John (2005). . Cambridge: University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on September 1, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2013.
February 07, 2023
biennale, italian, enˈnaːle, italian, biennial, every, other, year, event, that, happens, every, years, most, commonly, used, within, world, describe, large, scale, international, contemporary, exhibitions, such, term, popularised, venice, which, first, held, . Biennale Italian bi enˈnaːle Italian for biennial or every other year is any event that happens every two years It is most commonly used within the art world to describe large scale international contemporary art exhibitions As such the term was popularised by Venice Biennale which was first held in 1895 Since the 1990s the terms biennale and biennial have been interchangeably used in a more generic way to signify a large scale international survey show of contemporary art that recurs at regular intervals but not necessarily biannual such as triennials Documenta Skulptur Projekte Munster 1 The phrase has also been used for other artistic events such as the Biennale de Paris Kochi Muziris Biennale Berlinale for the Berlin International Film Festival and Viennale for Vienna s international film festival The Venice International Film Festival is part of the Venice Biennale The famous Golden Lion is awarded to the best film screening at the competition Contents 1 Characteristics 1 1 The Venice Biennale as an archetype 1 2 Biennials after the 1990s 2 International biennales 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksCharacteristics EditAccording to author Federica Martini what is at stake in contemporary biennales is the diplomatic international relations potential as well as urban regeneration plans Besides being mainly focused on the present the here and now where the cultural event takes place and their effect of spectacularisation of the everyday because of their site specificity cultural events may refer back to who produce or frame the history of the site and communities collective memory 2 The Great Exhibition in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park London in 1851 the first attempt to condense the representation of the world within a unitary exhibition space A strong and influent symbol of biennales and of large scale international exhibitions in general is the Crystal Palace the gigantic and futuristic London architecture that hosted the Great Exhibition in 1851 According to philosopher Peter Sloterdijk 3 page needed the Crystal Palace is the first attempt to condense the representation of the world in a unitary exhibition space where the main exhibit is society itself in an a historical spectacular condition The Crystal Palace main motives were the affirmation of British economic and national leadership and the creation of moments of spectacle In this respect 19th century World fairs provided a visual crystallization of colonial culture and were at the same time forerunners of contemporary theme parks The Venice Biennale as an archetype Edit The structure of the Venice Biennale in 2005 with an international exhibition and the national pavilions The Venice Biennale a periodical large scale cultural event founded in 1895 served as an archetype of the biennales Meant to become a World Fair focused on contemporary art the Venice Biennale used as a pretext the wedding anniversary of the Italian king and followed up to several national exhibitions organised after Italy unification in 1861 The Biennale immediately put forth issues of city marketing cultural tourism and urban regeneration as it was meant to reposition Venice on the international cultural map after the crisis due to the end of the Grand Tour model and the weakening of the Venetian school of painting Furthermore the Gardens where the Biennale takes place were an abandoned city area that needed to be re functionalised In cultural terms the Biennale was meant to provide on a biennial basis a platform for discussing contemporary art practices that were not represented in fine arts museums at the time The early Biennale model already included some key points that are still constitutive of large scale international art exhibitions today a mix of city marketing internationalism gentrification issues and destination culture and the spectacular large scale of the event Biennials after the 1990s Edit The situation of biennials has changed in the contemporary context while at its origin in 1895 Venice was a unique cultural event but since the 1990s hundreds of biennials have been organized across the globe Given the ephemeral and irregular nature of some biennials there is little consensus on the exact number of biennials in existence at any given time citation needed Furthermore while Venice was a unique agent in the presentation of contemporary art since the 1960s several museums devoted to contemporary art are exhibiting the contemporary scene on a regular basis Another point of difference concerns 19th century internationalism in the arts that was brought into question by post colonial debates and criticism of the contemporary art ethnic marketing and also challenged the Venetian and World Fair s national representation system As a consequence of this Eurocentric tendency to implode the whole word in an exhibition space which characterises both the Crystal Palace and the Venice Biennale is affected by the expansion of the artistic geographical map to scenes traditionally considered as marginal The birth of the Havana Biennial in 1984 is widely considered an important counterpoint to the Venetian model for its prioritization of artists working in the Global South and curatorial rejection of the national pavilion model International biennales EditIn the term s most commonly used context of major recurrent art exhibitions Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art South Australia Asian Art Biennale in Taichung Taiwan National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Athens Biennale in Athens Greece Bienal de Arte Paiz in Guatemala City Guatemala 4 Arts in Marrakech AiM International Biennale Arts in Marrakech Festival Bamako Encounters a biennale of photography in Mali Bat Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism Beijing Biennale Berlin Biennale contemporary art biennale to be distinguished from Berlinale which is a film festival Bergen Assembly triennial for contemporary art in Bergen Norway www bergenassembly no Bi City Biennale of Urbanism Architecture in Shenzhen and Hong Kong China Bienal de Arte de Ponce in Ponce Puerto Rico Biennale van Belgie Biennial of Belgium Belgium BiennaleOnline Online biennial exhibition of contemporary art from the most promising emerging artists Biennial of Hawaii Artists Biennale de la Biche the smallest biennale in the world held at deserted island near Guadeloupe French overseas region 5 6 Biwako Biennale ja in Shiga Japan La Biennale de Montreal Biennale of Luanda Pan African Forum for the Culture of Peace 7 Angola Boom Festival international music and culture festival in Idanha a Nova Portugal Bucharest Biennale in Bucharest Romania Bushwick Biennial in Bushwick Brooklyn New York Canakkale Biennial in Canakkale Turkey Cerveira International Art Biennial Vila Nova de Cerveira Portugal 8 Changwon Sculpture Biennale in Changwon South Korea Dakar Biennale also called Dak Art biennale in Dakar Senegal Documenta contemporary art exhibition held every five years in Kassel Germany Estuaire biennale biennale in Nantes and Saint Nazaire France EVA International biennial in Limerick Republic of Ireland Goteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art in Gothenburg Sweden 9 Greater Taipei Contemporary Art Biennial in Taipei Taiwan Gwangju Biennale Asia s first and most prestigious contemporary art biennale Havana biennial in Havana Cuba Helsinki Biennial in Helsinki Finland Herzliya Biennial For Contemporary Art in Herzliya Israel Incheon Women Artists Biennale in Incheon South Korea Iowa Biennial in Iowa USA Istanbul Biennial in Istanbul Turkey International Roaming Biennial of Tehran in Tehran and Istanbul Jakarta Biennale in Jakarta Indonesia Jerusalem Biennale in Jerusalem Israel Jogja Biennale in Yogyakarta Indonesia Karachi Biennale in Karachi Pakistan Keelung Harbor Biennale in Keelung Taiwan Kochi Muziris Biennale largest art exhibition in India in Kochi Kerala India Kortrijk Design Biennale Interieur in Kortrijk Belgium Kobe Biennale in Japan Kuandu Biennale in Taipei Taiwan Lagos Biennial in Lagos Nigeria 10 Light Art Biennale Austria in Austria Liverpool Biennial in Liverpool UK Lofoten International Art Festival no LIAF on the Lofoten archipelago Norway 11 Manifesta European Biennale of contemporary art in different European cities Mediations Biennale in Poznan Poland Melbourne International Biennial 1999 Mediterranean Biennale in Sakhnin 2013 MOMENTA Biennale de l image fr formerly known as Le Mois de la Photo a Montreal in Montreal Canada MOMENTUM no in Moss Norway 12 Moscow Biennale in Moscow Russia Munich Biennale new opera and music theatre in even numbered years Mykonos Biennale Nakanojo Biennale 13 NGV Triennial contemporary art exhibition held every three years at the National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne Australia October Salon Belgrade Biennale sr organised by the Cultural Center of Belgrade sr in Belgrade Serbia 14 OSTEN Biennial of Drawing Skopje North Macedonia 15 Biennale de Paris Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art RIBOCA in Riga Latvia 16 Sao Paulo Art Biennial in Sao Paulo Brazil SCAPE Public Art Christchurch Biennial in Christchurch New Zealand 17 Prospect New Orleans Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism Sequences in Reykjavik Iceland 18 Shanghai Biennale Sharjah Biennale in Sharjah UAE Singapore Biennale held in various locations across the city state island of Singapore Screen City Biennial in Stavanger Norway Biennale of Sydney Taipei Biennale in Taipei Taiwan Taiwan Arts Biennale in Taichung Taiwan National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Taiwan Film Biennale in Hammer Museum Los Angeles U S A Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art el in Thessaloniki Greece 19 Dream city produced by ART Rue Association in Tunisia Vancouver Biennale Visayas Islands Visual Arts Exhibition and Conference VIVA ExCon in the Philippines 20 Venice Biennale in Venice Italy which includes Venice Biennale of Contemporary Art Venice Biennale of Architecture Venice Film Festival Vladivostok biennale of Visual Arts in Vladivostok Russia Whitney Biennial hosted by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City NY USA Web Biennial produced with teams from Athens Berlin and Istanbul WRO Biennale in Wroclaw Poland 21 Music Biennale Zagreb SHIFT ibpcpa The International Biennale of Performance Collaborative and Participatory Arts Nomadic International Scotland UK See also EditWorld s fair Art exhibition Art festival Art biennials in AfricaReferences Edit Niemojewski Rafal 2021 Biennials the exhibitions we love to hate London ISBN 978 1 84822 388 2 OCLC 1205590577 Vittoria Martini e Federica Martini Just another exhibition Histories and politics of biennials Postmedia Books 2011 ISBN 88 7490 060 0 ISBN 978 88 7490 060 2 Im Weltinnenraum des Kapitals 2005 In Guatemala the Bienal de Arte Paiz Offers an Object Lesson in Community Based Art Done Right artnet News September 7 2018 Retrieved August 3 2020 ArtReview World s smallest biennial on Ilet la Biche Guadeloupe Welcome to the world s smallest art fair on a disappearing speck of sand The Guardian January 24 2017 Home Biennale of Luanda 2021 Bienal de Cerveira Bienal de Cerveira GIBCA home www gibca se Lagos Biennial Nigeria Biennial Foundation Archived from the original on April 24 2017 Retrieved February 23 2021 Lofoten International Art Festival LIAF Norway Biennial Foundation Archived from the original on June 7 2013 Retrieved July 1 2021 Momentum Norway Biennial Foundation Retrieved August 2 2020 ENGLISH NAKANOJO BIENNALE June 12 2013 October Salon Serbia Biennial Foundation Retrieved August 2 2020 Gallery Osten Drawing osten mk RIBOCA Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art Latvia Biennial Foundation Retrieved August 3 2020 Scape Public Art Retrieved July 7 2016 Sequences Iceland Biennial Foundation Retrieved June 26 2021 Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art Greece Biennial Foundation Retrieved July 25 2021 About Us VIVA ExCon Organization Biennale WRO WRO ART CENTER November 24 2009 Further reading EditFilipovic Elena 2010 Marieke van Hal Solveig Ovsteo ed The Biennial Reader Bergen Norway Bergen Biennial Conference Spanish Niemojewski Rafal 2013 Venecia o La Habana Una polemica sobre la genesis de la bienal contemporanea Denken Pensee Thought Mysl Criterios Issue 47 October Spanish Ojeda D de la Nuez R eds Trazos discontinuos Antologia critica sobre las bienales de arte en Asia Pacifico Discontinuous strokes Critical anthology of art biennials in Asia Pacific Leiden Almenara Press ISBN 978 94 92260 47 5 Jones Caroline March 29 2006 Biennial Culture Institute national d histoire de l art Paris a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help in English and Italian Vittoria Martini e Federica Martini Just another exhibition Histories and politics of biennials Postmedia Books 2011 ISBN 88 7490 060 0 ISBN 978 88 7490 060 2 Federica Martini Cultural event in Mobile A2K Methodology guide 2002 Manifesta Journal No 2 Winter 2003 Spring 2004 Biennials Artimo Foundation June 1 2003 ISBN 90 75380 95 X Morris Jane May 1 2019 Why is the Venice Biennale still so important The Art Newspaper Retrieved May 4 2019 Niemojewski Rafal 2006 Whence Come You and Whither Are you Going On the Memory and Identity of Biennials Manifesta Journal MJ Journal of Contemporary Curatorship N 6 Winter 2005 06 Niemojewski Rafal 2014 Turning the Tide the oppositional past and uncertain future of the contemporary biennial Seismopolite Journal of Art and Politics Volume 1 Issue 6 February Niemojewski Rafal 2018 Contemporary Art Biennials Decline or Resurgence Cultural Politics Duke University Press Volume 14 Issue 1 Spring Niemojewski Rafal 2021 Biennials The Exhibitions We Love to Hate Lund Humphries ISBN 9781848223882 Vanderlinden Barbara June 2 2006 Elena Filipovic ed The Manifesta Decade Debates on Contemporary Art Exhibitions and Biennials in Post Wall Europe illustrated ed The MIT Press ISBN 0 262 22076 8 External links EditBiennial Foundation site dedicated to biennales around the world Global Exhibitions Contemporary Art and the African Diaspora Liverpool February 19 2010 Byrne John 2005 Contemporary Art and Globalisation Biennials and the Emergence of the De Centred Artist Cambridge University of Cambridge Archived from the original on September 1 2007 Retrieved June 5 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Biennale amp oldid 1133551240, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
