Biennials: Prospect and Perspectives
Green white poster with black lettering to: 'biennials' views and perspectives.
Thu, February 27, 2014 – Sat, March 01, 2014, Symposium

As part of the theoretical foundations of GLOBALE, the ZKM, in cooperation with the ifa [Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations], has organized a large-scale conference with approx. 40 curators who seismographically record and reflect the process of transformation triggered by globalization.

Worldwide biennials can be seen as mirror of the process of transformation triggered by globalization. The proliferation of the format biennial in the meantime has developed many different discourses and concepts. Against this backdrop the conference will focus on five issues:
The opening section »Biennials and Public Space« discusses the notion of art as public domain and new definitions of publicness. The section »Biennials as Motor for Social Change« attempts to find out which impact biennials can have on the transformation of societies and politics. And upon considering the impacts, which could be seen as successful.

Another panel will be devoted to »The Dynamics of Biennials and the Role of its Actors (Curators, Artists, Organizers, Audiences)«. In the past years the proliferation of biennials has for instance strengthened the visibility of the curator. Which reciprocal effect have biennials had on other protagonists such as the artist or the audience? In the section »Chances and Limitations of Biennials in the Context of Marketing and Policies» we would like to address the question of how biennials deal with the demands of urban development, location marketing and political ambitions. The final panel »Alternatives ⁄⁄ Open Spaces« will lead the discussion to alternative models of biennials, which try to offer new visions for the future of the biennial. The conference forms part of the »Biennials in Dialogue« which ifa has been organizing in collaboration with its partners since 2000. Previous conferences took place at venues in Kassel, Frankfurt am Main, Singapore and Shanghai.
 

Program

Thu, February 27, 2014 
9 pmKeynote Lecture
Fri, February 28, 2014 
09:30–10 amIntroduction
10 am–12 pmBiennials and Public Space
Chair: Carol Lu
Panel: Fulya Erdemci, Sheika Hoor Al Qasimi, Yongwoo Lee,
Katja Aßmann
Respond: Blair French, Christoph Schäfer
2–4 pmBiennials as Motor for Social Change
Chair: Christine Eyene
Panel: Abdellah Karoum, Patrick Mudekereza, Alia Swastika,
Gerardo Mosquera
Respond: Elise Atangana, Jun Yang, Sara Rifky
4:30–6:30 pmThe Dynamics of Biennials and the Role of its Actors Curators, Artists, Organizers, Audiences)
Chair: Marieke van Hal
Panel: Basak Senova, Marah Braye, Luchezar Boyadjiev,
Mônica Hoff
Respond: Gabriele Horn, Patricia F. Druck
Sat, March 01,2014 
09:30–11 amChances and Limitations of Biennials in the Context of Marketing and Policies
​Chair: Sabine B. Vogel
Panel: Zhang Quin, Tan Boon Hui, Kasper König, Bige Örer
Respond: Ursula Zeller, Sally Tallant
11:30 am–1 pmAlternatives ⁄⁄ Open spaces
Chair: Rafal Niemojewski
Panel: Leah Gordon, Pan Gongkai
 Final Discussion
Credits
Partners

ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen [Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations])

Audio