International Biennial Association

The conference on July 11, 2014 will be open for the wider public and bring together artists, critics, art historians, curators, and biennial makers who triggered, defined as well as influenced important questions and developments related to perennial art exhibitions.

On the extraordinary occasion of the 1st General Assembly of the International Biennial Association (IBA) in Berlin, biennial professionals from all over the world will gather at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt from July 10 to 13, 2014. The idea of creating a stronger professional alliance among biennials was already discussed in the year 2000 at the first international conference Biennials in Dialogue (Kassel, Germany). Since then several small and large-scale events highlighted and shaped the development of a new network, which gained clear formulation at the World Biennial Forum No. 1 Shifting Gravity (Gwangju, South Korea, 2012) with the implementation of the International Biennial Association (IBA). In the format of an association, IBA seeks to actively engage in how biennials evolved in the global art world and how they respond to socio-political urgencies in the midst of contemporary challenges.

Program

10:00–10:30 am
Welcome

10:30–11:15 am
Keynote Lecture: Why Biennial?
Maria Hlavajova, Artistic Director, BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht and FORMER WEST

11:45 am–1:30 pm
Panel Discussion: Biennial Writing – Re-assessing Art History
• Bruce Altshuler, Director, Museum Studies Program, New York University
• Nicolas Bourriaud, Director, École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts/Curator, Taipei Biennial 2014
• Juan A. Gaitán, Curator, 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art
Moderated by Koyo Kouoh, Founding Director, RAW Material Company

3–3:45 pm
Keynote Lecture: Why Associate?
Bartomeu Marí, President, International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art/ Director, Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art

4:15–6 pm
Panel Discussion: Institutional Critique – How to be Self-Critical in Biennial Work
• Galit Eilat, Co-Curator, 31st Bienal de São Paulo
• Hedwig Fijen, Director, Manifesta – The European Biennial of Contemporary Art
• Geeta Kapur, Art Critic and Curator
• Ahmet Öğüt, Artist
Moderated by Bige Örer, Director, Istanbul Biennial

The Conference on the occasion of IBA’s General Assembly is organized by the Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. The Conference and General Assembly are hosted and generously supported by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation).
In collaboration with ifa - Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen and Biennial Foundation.
With the kind support of Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Gwangju Metropolitan City, German Federal Foreign Office, and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.