Biennials & festivals

Cod’s country: the 2019 Lofoten International Art Festival in pictures

Biennial in northern Norway takes the “intertidal zone” as its theme, with artists rustling up cod fish dinners and recording the sounds of the sea

Art films worth seeing from the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival

Claes Bang takes the lead in two art dramas, while Cunningham dances through the decades

Work of art advertised on Airbnb lets visitors stay for free in the Arctic Circle—but there’s a twist

The installation by Czech artist Kateřina Šedá is part of the Lofoten International Art Festival in Norway

Chicago Architecture Biennial reckons with displacement, privation and segregation

Artists’ works address a history of colonialisation and marginalisation and its impact on contemporary urban realities

Art world impact just 'a drop in the ocean': Istanbul biennial curator takes on climate crisis

Nicolas Bourriaud examines the Anthropocene in 16th edition of the exhibition and says the “real issue is mass tourism"

‘Post-industrial’ Biennale de Lyon to examine shifting social and economic experience of the region

As the largest edition of the biennial expands into an abandoned factory, we also roundup new festivals sprouting up around the world

Margaret Carrigan. , with additional reporting by Gareth Harris and José da Silva
Podcastspodcast

Top of the Pods: The best of the Venice Biennale

A look back at our coverage of the contemporary art event, including interviews with Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and Ralph Rugoff

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David Clack and Aimee Dawson

Eleven artists withdraw or modify their works at Aichi Triennale in ongoing censorship row

Cuban activist Tania Bruguera closes down her exhibit while other artists reconfigure works to reflect the controversy

Inaugural Rabat Biennale to be made up (mainly) of female artists

Curator Abdelkader Damani explains the reasons behind launching Moroccan show in already saturated biennial landscape

Scattered over 12 islands, Japan’s Setouchi Triennale offers poignant reflections of local life by the sea

Triennial features more than 200 sculptures and installations scattered across a dozen islands in the region

Performa 19 to explore the influence of the Bauhaus School on live performance

The biennial includes around 20 new commissions by artists such as Kia LaBeija and Ed Atkins

Three to see: Edinburgh Art Festival

Trisha Brown, Samson Young and James Richards are among the highlights of this year's cultural offering in the Scottish capital

Four artists withdraw their work from the Whitney Biennial

The move follows on-going calls for the resignation of the museum board's vice chairman

St Louis’s Counterpublic triennial tests the limits of local engagement

In its first iteration, the exhibition paired artists with local storefronts far from the city’s major cultural districts

From plastic waste to indigenous heritage, old and new biennials tap into contemporary concerns and issues

Toronto gets a new waterfront biennial while Istanbul stays fresh by shifting to dramatic new locations

Actor Russell Tovey to curate new arts festival in the UK seaside town of Margate

Exhibitions and performances will coincide with this year’s Turner Prize exhibition at Turner Contemporary

How to spend the longest day of the year with art and nature

Storm King Art Center is hosting a Summer Solstice celebration alongside its shows by artists Mark Dion and Jean Shin

São Paulo biennial ups its budget for a huge 2020 edition

The 34th exhibition will involve collaborations with more than 20 cultural institutions in the city and multiple openings throughout the year

Everything is good at the Whitney Biennial but nothing makes a difference

Despite a history of protest and a very present controversy at the museum, this year’s survey of American contemporary art is missing a radical spirit

Fierce debate over Christoph Büchel's Venice Biennale display of boat that sank with hundreds locked in hull

Up to 1,100 may have died on board the fishing vessel; critics say its display is grossly insensitive at best while others describe it as a powerful reminder of exploitation

Whitney Biennial aims to focus on artists but—as protests mount—it cannot escape politics

The Whitney Museum has turned to two in-house curators to put together a show that celebrates diversity in American art—but as in 2017, the biennial is already mired in controversy

Venice Biennale 2019: the must-see pavilions around the city

An indoor beach, Mongolian throat singing and ceramic vaginas—where to go beyond the Arsenale and Giardini

We've chosen the best of the art in Venice, now here's the worst

We’ve seen a lot of exhibitions in the city so you don’t have to

Veterans and artists draw creative profit out of war

A project at the inaugural National Veterans Art Museum Triennial in Chicago aims to create artistic equity out of conflict

Why is the Venice Biennale still so important?

Historical importance, glamour, big spenders—it continues to be an art festival like no other

Honey I shrunk the art: the ultimate alternative biennial opens in Los Angeles

Dollhouse-sized paintings and installations replace big artistic statements and egos

The 2019 Havana Biennial is a smokescreen for government censorship

Art fares poorly when parroting official narratives, especially when that messaging is opposed to the values of free speech and an open society

Havana Biennial opens amid controversy

Works on view draw on themes of collaboration and agency, at the same time the government seeks to control what art can be shown on the island