36th Bienal of São Paulo

By Agusta Chauffaille

More than 120 artists from around the world are exhibiting their art in the second oldest biennial of contemporary art on the planet. The 36th São Paulo Biennial presents the exhibition "Not all travelers travel paths: humanity as a practice", inaugurated on Sept. 6, 2024, and open until Jan. 11, 2026.

The history of the São Paulo Biennial is intimately linked to the historical and cultural heritage of Brazil. Founded in 1951, it was inspired by the Venice Biennale with the aim of inserting Brazil and Latin America into the world circuit of modern art. The first two exhibitions (1951 and 1953) were held on Paulista Avenue. The second was especially remembered for including Pablo Picasso's "Guernica", a monumental work almost eight meters wide. Safeguarded at the time by the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the painting traveled remarkably to São Paulo, setting a milestone in the country's cultural history.

At that time it was considered that the city, being already a metropolis, should have a park similar to Central Park in New York, which is why for the 400th Anniversary of the city of São Paulo, in 1954, Ibirapuera Park was inaugurated, a large public park, an extensive green lung according to the metropolis that was more than 1.5 km² for the free use of the population. The project was designed in landscape by Burle Marx and architecturally by Oscar Niemeyer, a key figure in Brazilian modernism, with the collaboration of agronomist Texeira Mendes, responsible for the general construction. The park is home to iconic facilities such as the Ibirapuera Auditorium, the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) and the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, the current headquarters of the Biennial. It was voted the eighth best park in the world at the Travellers' Choice Awards in 2014 and named one of the 10 best urban parks in the world by The Guardian (the UK's leading newspaper) in an article published in August 2015. Recognized for its historical, cultural, environmental and urban value, Ibirapuera Park was declared a Protected Heritage Site in 1992 by CONDEPHAAT (State) and in 1997 by CONPRESP (Municipality).

It was not until 1957 that the Biennale was moved to the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, a modern architecture whose interior reveals the curved lines that bear the imprint of its creator: "It is not the right angle that attracts me, nor the straight, hard and inflexible line... what attracts me is the free and sensual curve..." (Niemeyer, 1988). This work was also listed as a Historical Monument by CONPRESP, CONDEPHAAT and IPHAN (at the national level).

Under the slogan "Not all travelers travel paths: humanity as a practice", the 36th Biennial proposes to rethink the meaning of human action in a world that demands listening, coexistence and new bonds. The exhibition is inspired by the poem "From Calm to Silence" by the Afro-Brazilian poet Conceição Evaristo and has as one of its main foundations the active listening to humanity as a form of constant encounter, displacement and negotiation.

Artists from more than 30 countries are participating – including the United States, Morocco, Mexico, Iran, Mozambique, Jamaica, France, Germany, China, Japan, South Africa, Nigeria, Lebanon, Indonesia, Turkey and Trinidad and Tobago – with works in multiple languages: video, sound, sculpture, painting, photography, installation, performance and music, among others.

The architecture of the pavilion itself, with ramps and curved corridors, favors a fluid tour of the three floors. The design of the exhibition is inspired by the fluid and transformative nature of rivers, it proposes ways of being and moving, understanding flow as a form of existence.

The works on display are works with personality that give a clear and special message to what the whole world is going through at the moment. A protest of the current situation of humanity in general and how it relates and coexists not only with the nature that surrounds it but also with its peers who it does not see as peers. It is a wake-up call to become aware of the actions of human beings in terms of pollution and how their actions end up causing climate changes in the long run such as rising tides and the disappearance of entire coastal towns without resources as is happening in Nigeria, without the world taking any action in this regard. As a wake-up call, several works exhibited make us reflect on these issues, some with videos, others with photographs, with sculptures using plastic waste such as tooth matches, shampoo caps, soda caps, computer keys, buttons, charcoal, matchboxes, ponytails, scraps of fabric, among others.

Other works reflect social, economic, and sexual discrimination. It allows for reflection on colonialism, its power and its ramifications in today's societies. Brazil's history, like many other countries, is a fusion of enslaved indigenous, European, and African peoples, a mixture of powers that persist. In this sense, the exhibition explores how different cultures and societies address these differences and create new paths of beauty and coexistence.

Art is a cultural manifestation; it awakens awareness and gives rise to reflection.

The exhibition is organized into six thematic chapters, with signage that promotes a direct encounter with the works. Information about the artists and their work is available in columns distributed throughout the route, as well as QR codes that allow online access to the expanded content. The exhibition of the 36th São Paulo Biennial can be visited online through the Biennial's website https://36.bienal.org.br where you can find the complete catalog of each artist's works as well as general information about the exhibition itself.

The São Paulo Biennial is one of the most important cultural events in Latin America and the world. Throughout its 36 editions, it has consolidated its prestige for promoting research, education and debate on new forms of contemporary art. Considered the second most relevant biennale after Venice, it is distinguished by its unique conceptual and flexible approach, which prioritizes dialogue with the global south, identity and humanity (each Biennale has a different conceptual approach). While the Venice Biennale (founded in 1895) is structured in national pavilions where each country presents its own artists to be recognized worldwide. Another difference is that the Venice Biennale includes other disciplines such as architecture, film, dance, music, theater, while in São Paulo, the Architecture Biennale takes place independently.

The 36th São Paulo Biennial not only showcases works of art; it is a space for dialogue, questioning and discovery. Each installation, each performance and each exhibited object invites the viewer to reflect on humanity, coexistence and our impact on the world. By combining historical heritage, iconic architecture and contemporary expressions, the Biennale reaffirms itself as a global meeting point for artists and the public, a place where creativity becomes a bridge between cultures and generations.

Visiting the Biennale is more than observing art, participating in a movement that explores, questions and celebrates diversity and humanity in all its forms. It is a reminder that art continues to be a powerful tool for thinking about our present and dreaming of possible futures.