Sharjah Art Foundation

Sharjah Biennial 16

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
6 Febuary — 15 June 2025

The Biennial Nation

This panel, titled The Biennial Nation, features Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (Director, Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and Director, Fondazione Francesco Federico Cerruti), Catherine David (Deputy Director, National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou), Bongiwe Dhlomo-Mautloa (artist, curator), Gabi Ngcobo (curator, educator), and Octavio Zaya (Executive Director, Cuban Art Foundation). The session explores the ways in which biennials can become spaces for cultural diplomacy and the imagining of nations. The panelists examine several biennials, including the Whitney Biennial, Gwangju Biennale, Shanghai Biennale, Biennale of Sydney and Manifesta, which have courted controversy over issues of diversity, sponsorship, censorship and politics. The talk is moderated by Coco Fusco (artist, writer and Professor, Cooper Union School of Art).