Mending the Shores: Transforming Biennials for a Sustainable Future (13.10.2024)

In the context of a IBA General Assembly focused on reimagining a sustainable format for biennials amidst current global challenges and long-standing questions surrounding the exhibition model, this panel will explore how biennials can reposition themselves by moving away from a logic of incremental growth. The discussion will focus on balancing the positive cultural impact of biennials while addressing ecological and strategic concerns, challenging the field to think differently about sustainability.

We are pleased to announce three distinguished speakers who will share their insights:

• Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez
  Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez (b. 1976, Ljubljana) is an interdependent curator, editor, and writer. Since 2021, she has been the Arts and Culture Programme Manager at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris. Her curatorial work includes exhibitions such as “When Solidarity Is Not a Metaphor” (Venice, 2024), “Ces voix qui m’assiègent” (2024), and “Trailblazers: Feminism, Camera in Hand and Archive over the Shoulder” (2023). Nataša has previously curated Contour Biennale 9: Coltan as Cotton (2019) and Defiant Muses at LaM, Lille, and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. She is a co-founder of the Initiative for Practices and Visions of Radical Care.
  • Majd Abdel Hamid
    Majd Abdel Hamid is a Palestinian visual artist born in Damascus in 1988, currently based between Beirut and Paris. A graduate of Malmö Art Academy in Sweden, his work has been exhibited at CCA Glasgow, gb agency in Paris, Fondation d’Entreprise Hermès in Brussels, and Sharjah Art Museum, among others. Majd’s work explores themes of memory, time, and political history, utilizing embroidery and other mediums to navigate complex narratives of displacement. He is currently an artist in residence at Cité internationale des arts in Paris and exhibiting at the 17th Biennale de Lyon.
  • Lorenzo Giusti
    Lorenzo Giusti (Ph.D.) is an Italian art historian and curator, currently serving as Director of GAMeC in Bergamo since 2018. He has curated exhibitions and retrospectives for prominent 20th-century artists such as Maria Lai and Regina Cassolo Bracchi, and is known for his focus on the relationship between historical avant-gardes and contemporary languages. Lorenzo’s work explores the intersection of ecological thinking and visual arts, making him a key figure in contemporary art discourse on sustainability.

Don’t miss this insightful panel and the rest of the program, part of the 11th General Assembly, organised in partnership with La Biennale de Lyon.