Biennial

Biennial

A biennial is a significant international art exhibition that takes place every two years.

Biennials are international platforms for contemporary art that occur every two years and are widely regarded as the most prominent -ennial events. In the globalised realm of contemporary art, more than 100 biennials in cities like São Paulo, Istanbul, Moscow, and Sydney vie for renowned curators and established artists. These events have evolved into sources of local pride, tourism, cultural influence, and revenue for the host cities.

The inaugural biennial event was the Venice Biennale in 1895, initially located in the Giardini, a public park. Today, the Giardini hosts thirty permanent national pavilions and numerous temporary structures. While European art initially dominated the early years, the exhibition has evolved to encompass contributions from countries across South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.


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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.