Photologue | From Shanghai to Nanjing: Two International Biennales and the In-Betweens

The 8th Shanghai Biennale has defined its theme as ‘Rehearsal’ this year, a reflective space of performance. ‘Rehearsal’ is not only a strategy or a special form of exhibition, but it focuses on the full process of the exhibition and of creativity itself. The presence of the Biennale at the Shanghai Art Museum, and its satellite events throughout the city have encouraged a wide range of participants – artists, curators, critics, collectors, museum directors, and members of the audience – to rehearse in the Biennale and reflect on the relationships between art experimentation and the art system, between individual creativity and the public domain.

The exhibition ‘By Day, By Night’, curated by Hou Hanru at the Rockbund Museum, expands on a similar angle – that the art museum is not only a daytime venue but should be accessible at all times as the public navigates through their experience with art and culture.

In addition, the first Nanjing Biennale, distinguished from its previous incarnation as the Nanjing Triennial, was held at the newly-constructed Jiangsu Art Museum with the collaboration of 4Cube Contemporary Art Center. Its working theme ‘And_Write’ focuses on the artist’s role of interpreting contemporary art within the global context. As many international biennales, the event is reintroducing Nanjing to a global art audience as well as inspiring audiences to explore the local art ecology of Nanjing.

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Author

HE Xiao Fiona, 賀瀟

Topic
Notes
Date
Wed, 1 Dec 2010
Tags
Exhibition Histories South East Asia Diaaalogue
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