BIENALSUR 2025: art for a new humanism

Deepening its humanistic spirit and strengthening exchanges and ties with iconic artists in its first ten years are actions that inform the program for Bienalsur 2025, which opened its first stop in Colombia on June 26. From there, it expands its exhibition schedule through the end of the year, from Buenos Aires to Shanghai, always "with the humility of an immigrant," as Diana Wechsler , artistic director of Bienalsur, expressed in an interview with Ñ .

–Why is this edition focused on humanism?

–We've always talked about building a contemporary humanism, although it hasn't been so prominent until now. It appeared in the publication Pensar futuro posible and in 2019, when we joined the International Peace Fund in Paris; we called for building on differences as one of the foundations of the new humanism.

–What is the reason for the revaluation?

–It has to do with the current civilizational crisis. The isolation of individuals generated by the pandemic, which ranges from avoiding interpersonal contact to being more reluctant to enter public spaces, are ways of dismantling the community. The director of a museum in France told me about studies related to audiences at the British Museum and MoMA ; they say that what most impacts the carbon footprint isn't having an exhibition, but the attendance of the public. What's the point of having an exhibition if no one can see it? Culture is the space where other ties can be established.

–A humanist front against hate speech, wars...

–Exactly, now it becomes stronger that we go everywhere with the humility of an immigrant , to listen to what the other has to say, to try to think with the other.

–You also changed “global” to “transnational.” Was that deliberate?

–Yes, by saying “transnational,” we recognize that there are differences, nations, distinct cultures. Globalization brought a culture of homogenization , of believing that everyone was happy with McDonald's, and we find it more rewarding to cross borders while knowing that there is a border.

–What other innovations does Bienalsur present in its first decade?

–On the one hand, we've made the residency program more complex. We always say we prefer moving artists to moving works; they used to work in venues for a while, but now they have more support and partnerships. We've also invited artists who had a special commitment to Bienalsur, like Michelangelo Pistoletto . And an interesting difference this year is that we're taking advantage of the possibilities of contemporary art because of its materiality: if we have a video or an installation that can be done in different locations, why not take advantage of that?

–What would be an example of this?

–We have exhibitions in several locations. Many artists share the same concept, while others vary. Sometimes it's the same work, but in different formats because they're site-specific. This is the case with one of the central projects at the Immigrants Hotel , called Let's Play. Let's Play in the World , which addresses the tensions between art and life through the idea of ​​play.

Within this megaproject, which includes Julio Cortázar's Hopscotch , there's an artistic essay called (D) structure , by a collective of Colombian artists that will be in several venues in Latin America and Europe, which is also a game with wooden sticks that build a sculpture, guided by questions that have to do with expectations. There's also the work of Carlos Amorales , which gives us the opportunity to rethink a mobile, but with sound and performance, with musicians, where people can feel invited to explore sounds.

The reflection on art as a place for community building , collaborative work, and interaction is very powerful. These things seem like mere entertainment, but they aren't. Especially after the pandemic, expressiveness in society is very limited, and that's precisely what makes us human .

–One of the curatorial axes is A More Just World, which resonates with the tension between the utopian and dystopian, so present in art today.

–The fact that one of the themes that colors the cartography of Bienalsur is " Let's Play in the World" has to do with putting ourselves on the affirmative side . That doesn't mean it's any less critical and reflective, but it is affirmative of the things in the world we want to preserve, and we offer the conditions for this to happen. In this context, the resources of art are unsurpassed.

With its two-way street, from home to the world and back again, Bienalsur has been a royal avenue not only for showcasing work produced in our region. Anyone who has attended the major biennials and fairs will have seen the extent to which it has contributed to disseminating distinctive names and forms of expression, through artists and work that were previously peripheral.

Likewise, he managed to bring key creators of today's central circuit closer to our distant latitude, whom we would not have access to through large institutions. In short, he enriched the languages ​​and perspectives at each venue, far from any solemn gesture.

Buenos Aires . July 5th MUNTREF Contemporary Art Center (Km 0) | Let's play.

Let's play in the world.

Let's play. (D)estructure, another (performance) adventure. The Institute of Suspended Time.

July 6th, Parque de la Memoria (Km 8) Some trades. Art, work, and precariousness in Argentina (2003-2023)

July 8th Cultural Space Palacio Pereda of the Brazilian Embassy (Km 1.4) Critique of pure abstraction

MATTA Cultural Center of the Chilean Embassy in Argentina (Km 3.8) Discordias. Photographs by Paz Errázuriz and Adriana Lestido .

July 25 Alliance Française (Km 1.35) Migrants

Salta , July 10. mac - Salta Museum of Contemporary Art (Km 1288) Textile/Texture

Lola Mora Provincial Museum of Fine Arts (Km 1285) Anachronias

Mar del Plata July 12 MAR - Provincial Museum of Contemporary Art (Km 383) Fragmenting Obsolescence: Silent Spring