Biennials & festivals

Fondation Cartier strengthens partnership with Sydney Biennale and appoints new First Nations curatorial fellow

The celebrated Australian Indigenous artist Tony Albert has been named as the inaugural recipient of the fellowship

Nigerian Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2024 to address looting of Benin Kingdom

Outside of the artists' work, the pavilion will show projects made in collaboration with the Museum of West African Art

Fusing contemporary with ancient: Desert X opens in Saudi Arabia's AlUla

The third edition of the show, which originated in southern California, features large-scale installations by 17 artists from the region and beyond

Cleveland's Front triennial cancels 2025 edition and shuts down

The recurring exhibition, which sought to make Northeast Ohio an arts destination, is ceasing operations after two iterations

'A call to action': 2024 Venice Biennale to feature more than 300 artists with focus on Indigenous and queer figures

Historic works from 20th-century artists from Latin America, Africa, the Arab world, and Asia will also be included

New campaign group to monitor Istanbul Biennial developments following curator row

Turkish artists and curators have organised two forums and raised concerns about participants who pulled out

71 participating artists and collectives revealed for 2024 Whitney Biennial

The exhibition, titled “Even Better Than the Real Thing” and co-curated by Chrissie Iles and Meg Onli, will feature works by 69 artists and two collectives

Sixth edition of Prospect New Orleans will feature 49 artists’ works throughout the city

Opening on 2 November, Prospect.6 will be the first edition of the triennial co-curated by an artist, with Ebony G. Patterson collaborating with Miranda Lash

Liverpool Biennial announces curator for 2025

Marie-Anne McQuay previously worked at the city's Bluecoat art centre, and currently holds positions including member of Arts Council Collection’s acquisitions committee

Iwona Blazwick stands down as Istanbul Biennial curator—event postponed until 2025

A row erupted last summer over transparency issues concerning her appointment

Kevser Güler named new director of Istanbul Biennial

The decision comes in the aftermath of a controversy surrounding the appointment of the exhibition's curator

Bige Örer, director of the Istanbul Biennial, steps down after tumultuous year

Turkish arts chief says her decision is not prompted by controversy over curator selection

Venice and more: the most interesting biennials to visit this year

Full listings of the biennials and triennials happening in 2024

Border Biennial showcases art across the Texas-Mexico border

It’s the first physical iteration of the El Paso and Juárez exhibition in five years, after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the 2020 edition

Saudi Arabia’s Desert X AlUla biennial announces new curators for 2024 edition

The theme of the third iteration will be “In the Presence of Absence”

German photo biennial cancelled after curator’s posts are deemed antisemitic

The host cities warn that the cancellation jeopardises “the future of the entire event"

Documenta finding panel resigns out of 'grave concern' for show’s future

The committee's mass resignation follows the departure of Ranjit Hoskoté, a writer who came under pressure for signing a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions statement

Spectacular Lumiere art festival lights up UK city of Durham

The latest edition of the popular event includes work by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Ai Weiwei

New York’s performance art biennial returns, with a focus on the heyday of conceptual art

The 2023 Performa Biennial takes as its starting point the conceptual art of the 1960s and 70s, across works by 40 contemporary artists

Saudi Arabia's Diriyah Biennale announces programme for 2024

After Rain exhibition, featuring 92 artists, is organised by curator Ute Meta Bauer

Four artists withdraw from 2024 Istanbul Biennial as curator row deepens

The participants invited this year call for "transparent forms of communication"—the biennial foundation says dialogue channels are still open

Kyiv Biennial's main exhibition in Vienna brings together the fragments of conflict

The show—the centrepiece of an event being hosted in several cities across Europe—features work addressing the Russia-Ukraine war as well as examples of authoritarian rule and political subjugation from further afield

Frieze turns 20: what's next for the popular art fair?

Plus, we speak to the artist Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir, who will be representing Iceland in Venice next year, and pick a work from the Matisse show at the Metropolitan Museum in New York

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In the latest Made in LA biennial, art and life are one

The latest edition of the Hammer Museum’s closely-watched biennial takes its title, “Acts of Living”, from a comment by revered Southern California assemblage sculptor Noah Purifoy

Istanbul Biennial's governing body draws up new selection guidelines following curator row

İKSV will bar advisory board members from taking up curatorial posts although the 2024 edition will go ahead as planned

An environmental art festival in Los Angeles seeks to counteract climate despair and inspire action

The organisers of Earth Edition, a new festival at CalArts, are seeking to showcase “what is being done that’s positive, that’s solutions-oriented”

The Guerrilla Girls take on an Arkansas music festival

The activist art collective is bringing an installation of its work and a series of workshops to the Format festival in Bentonville

Bienal de São Paulo restricts access to Ibrahim Mahama installation after child falls and breaks his arm while climbing on it

The installation features a reclaimed Ghanaian railroad track that visitors were previously encouraged to interact with