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| Bienal do Mercosul | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bienal do Mercosul |
| Native name | Bienal do Mercosul de Arte Contemporânea |
| Genre | Visual arts biennial |
| Frequency | Biennial |
| Location | Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul |
| Country | Brazil |
| Established | 1997 |
| Director | Various |
Bienal do Mercosul is a major contemporary art biennial held in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, that gathers artists, curators, critics and institutions from across Latin America and the world. Founded in 1997 amid cultural policies of the Mercosur integration period, the event has engaged with networks that include museums, universities and international biennials such as Venice Biennale, São Paulo Art Biennial, Documenta, Biennale de Lyon, and Cuenca Bienal. Over its editions the exhibition has featured contributions from artists, curators and theorists associated with institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Tate Modern, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), Museo Reina Sofía, Museo Tamayo, Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (MAMBA), and research centers including Getty Research Institute, Smithsonian Institution, and Getty Foundation.
The biennial was conceived during dialogues involving municipal and state cultural bodies, regional trade blocs such as Mercosur and cultural agencies like the Ministério da Cultura (Brazil), engaging figures from the Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul (MARGS), Instituto Goethe, British Council, Alliance Française, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo and networks connected to the Inter-American Development Bank. Early editions responded to global debates framed by curators linked to Okwui Enwezor, Lucy Lippard, Pierre Restany, Hans Ulrich Obrist, and critics from journals such as Artforum, Frieze, ArtNews, Flash Art, and Third Text. Funding and political support intersected with actors like the Prefeitura de Porto Alegre, Governo do Rio Grande do Sul, private sponsors including Banco do Brasil Cultural, Petrobras Cultural, and cultural foundations such as the Itaú Cultural. Over time the biennial navigated changes tied to national administrations, collaborations with universities like the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), and dialogues with regional festivals including Bienal de La Habana and Mercosul Film Festival.
Administration has combined municipal cultural secretariats, steering committees, curatorial teams and advisory boards composed of curators and directors from institutions such as Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-RJ), Museu de Arte Contemporânea da USP (MAC USP), Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil (CCBB), Instituto Moreira Salles, and universities like Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Programming units coordinate with curators previously affiliated with Serpentine Galleries, Centre Pompidou, Kunsthalle Basel, Kiasma, MAXXI, and research partnerships with agencies including UNESCO, UNICEF, and regional cultural observatories. Prize structures, publications and residencies have involved institutions such as the Prince Claus Fund, V&A, Walker Art Center, and international residency programs like Cité Internationale des Arts, Gasworks, Serralves Residency, and Artist Pension Trust models adapted locally.
Notable editions invited curators and contributors linked to Luis Camnitzer, Adriano Pedrosa, Agnieszka Polska, Tania Bruguera, Cildo Meireles, Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, Tunga, Vik Muniz, Beatriz Milhazes, César Aira, Nicolás Guillén, Graciela Carnevale, Carlos Garaicoa, Marta Minujín, Lygia Clark, and emerging artists from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. The biennial has hosted collateral projects with galleries from New York City, London, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Bogotá, Mexico City, and independent initiatives such as Documenta 11-influenced forums, DIY spaces, artist-run projects, and performance programs connected to Fluxus legacies. Special commissions have engaged architects and designers linked to Oscar Niemeyer, Isay Weinfeld, Ruy Ohtake, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, and scenographers who collaborated with museums like MAM-SP and MAC-USP.
Programs have addressed postcoloniality, migration, memory, urbanism, extractivism, identity and global south dialogues, featuring scholarship from figures associated with Walter Mignolo, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Enrique Dussel, Achille Mbembe, Boaventura de Sousa Santos, and artists engaging with visual narratives linked to Modernismo brasileiro, Tropicalia, Neo-Concretism, and Constructivism. Thematic focuses intersected with exhibitions exploring archives, indigenous practices, Afro-descendant cultural production, and intersectional feminist art, referencing activists and scholars such as Stella Nyanzi and institutions like Instituto Socioambiental and Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI). Curatorial essays have cited methods from Relational Aesthetics (Nicolas Bourriaud), archival turns seen in Pierre Nora-influenced debates, and curatorial frameworks practiced at Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI) and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO). Educational programs collaborated with conservatories, museums and foundations, including Conservatório de Música de Porto Alegre and Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.
Primary venues have included civic landmarks in Porto Alegre, spaces associated with Usina do Gasômetro, Casa de Cultura Mario Quintana, Museu de Arte do Rio Grande do Sul (MARGS), and repurposed industrial sites analogous to projects at Matadero Madrid and Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. Design teams have worked with scenographers and architects connected to Arup, Foster + Partners, and local studios, aligning exhibition strategies with conservation departments at Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN), collections management practices at Sotheby's-style logistics and art handling specialists from regional auction houses. Temporary pavilions and public interventions have extended into urban corridors, parks, and public transit nodes, following precedents set by Liverpool Biennial and Gwangju Biennale.
Critical reception has ranged from praise in outlets such as Artforum, Frieze, The Guardian, New York Times, El País, Folha de S.Paulo, O Globo, La Nación, and Le Monde to critique from scholars in journals like Third Text and commentators from institutions including Fundação Getúlio Vargas and grassroots collectives. Debates often focus on curatorial choices, funding models linked to corporations like Petrobras and Banco do Brasil, and tensions between market visibility promoted by galleries from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and commitments to activist practices and community-based projects. Controversies mirrored discussions at Whitney Biennial and Documenta about representation, restitution, censorship and cultural policy.
The biennial has contributed to networks connecting artists, curators and institutions across Latin America, influencing careers and institutional programming at museums including Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (Buenos Aires), Museo de Antioquia, MAC Panamá, Museo de Arte Moderno La Tertulia (Cali), and university galleries. It has catalyzed dialogues with funders such as Itaú Cultural, Fundação Vitae, and international partners like British Council and Goethe-Institut, while shaping curatorial training paths that intersect with residencies at Museion, Kadist, and fellowships from Getty. The event's archives and publications inform scholarship at departments like Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Universidad de Chile, and international programs at Goldsmiths, Columbia University, NYU, and Courtauld Institute of Art.
Category:Art biennials