Best of the Web

  • The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia has been the nation's pre-eminent survey of Australian Contemporary art since its inception in 1990. Presented every two years in conjunction with the Adelaide Festival of Arts, the biennial highlights exciting new trends in contemporary visual art and is the festival's premier visual arts event.
  • An international event that is dispersed over numerous spaces and landscapes on the seven Canary Islands giving all residents and visitors a platform for sharing ideas on the importance of landscape, and the search for imaginative solutions for a better future, in harmony with the environment.
  • Founded in 1999, the triennial brings together photographs, videos, and installations by artists from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea.
  • Founded in 1979, Ars Electronica spotlighted the emerging digital revolution. The Festival has developed into one of the worlds foremost media art festivals and has provided an annual setting for artistic and scientific encounters with social and cultural phenomena that are the upshot of technological change.
  • Founded in 2003, the biennial is international in scope, celebrating and recognizing artists from across the world.
  • With its first exhibition opening in September 2007, the biennial aims to function within an international network of large-scale periodic contemporary art events, while providing the framework and the support for a variety of approaches.
  • Founded in 2001, the Triennial is New Zealand's premier international contemporary art exhibition providing a window onto the world of contemporary art while creating a dialogue between local artists and their global counterparts.
  • Founded in 1996, the biennial is an exhibition of works by international artists and artist groups sponsored by KUNST-WERKE BERLIN Institute for Contemporary Art, and on display at twelve venues along Augustsatrasse in Berlin's Mitte district.
  • Founded in 1951, a cultural event hosted every two years and held at the spacious Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion.
  • Founded in 1997, the biennial and its vigorous education program is supported by the funds raised by the Foundation Biennial of Mercosur which also oversees the preservation and documentation of all the historical materials related to the bienal.
  • Founded in 2004, the biennial promotes contemporary art with the intention that the exhibitions act as open windows onto the world of free thought, new trends, reinterpretations and new dynamic proposals in other words, onto the world of contemporary art.
  • Initiated in 2008 by Ok Center for Contemporary Art, the Biennale presents a selection of the most interesting and best works from the most important art biennials around the world. It offers visitors a glimpse into the international art world and an opportunity for a condensed experience of contemporary art.
  • In 2001 The United Nations recognized the Florence Biennale as an official partner in the program "Dialogue Among Nations."
  • Since 1973 the biennale has acted as a catalyst for cultural development and discussion. It has created unique opportunities for direct contact between artists, writers, and curators from other countries, as well as collectors and gallery directors, with their counterparts in Australia.
  • Founded in 2001, the biennial is an exhibition of ceramics created by artists from all over the world in collaboration with local craftsmen in Liguria.
  • Founded in 2007, the biennial has been commissioned and produced by the Center for Contemporary Arts, Estonia and it is held at different locations in the historic precinct of Tallinn's Old Town.
  • Founded in 2003, the biennial is an ambitious celebration of international photographic practice and is committed to stimulating critical debate on photography in all its forms: new and historic, digital and analogue, still and moving.
  • Founded in 2009, the Biennial includes a wide range of institutions and projects crossing traditional boundaries between biennials, exhibitions, institutions, curators and artists.
  • Founded in 2005, the biennial promotes the exchange of art and ideas through the staging of contemporary arts and work globally and locally, bringing together an international vision of art and cross-cultural exchange with a commitment to the community involvement and the enrichment of Bucharest's cultural resources.
  • Founded in 2002, the biennale includes the Contemporary Art Exhibition, the Sea Art Festival and the Busan Sculpture Project.
  • "The California Biennial is an indispensable exhibition for both the young artists it champions and for audiences interested in discovering bold new talent," said Director Dennis Szakacs.
  • CAPE aims to culturally connect Cape Town, South Africa and the Diaspora by creating a ground-breaking contemporary African art event. It is a call to action for cultural practitioners to respond to the unique realities of present-day Africa and redefine African cultural practice for an international and local audience.
  • One of Andrew Carnegie's bold ambitions was to created a museum of modern art and he established the series of contemporary art exhibitions in 1896. Since then the exhibition has been through several format changes. In 1955 the biennial exhibition switched to triennial and the title changed to Carnegie International in 1982.
  • Founded in 2003, the biennial is entirely focused on video art.
  • Founded in 1993, the 2009 edition of the Festival of Regions will be oriented toward the southern edge of the city of Linz, along the Traun River, with a focus on the satellite town of Auwiesen and the residential complexes of solarCity.
  • Initiated in 1955 by the artist and art educator Arnold Bode, Documenta is regarded as the most important exhibition of contemporary art, drawing attention from all over the world. Every five years, a new director is chosen and the exhibition is reinvented, a concept which to date has been affirmed by the public's interest.
  • Founded in 1976, this annual exhibition of contemporary art is the premier exhibition of its kind in Ireland. Curated each year by a different curator of international standing, e v+ a presents the work of Irish and international contemporary artists in a range of venues and settings, formal and alternative, throughout the city of Limerick.
  • Founded in 1999 and held at El Museo del Barrio, the bienal celebrates the experimental, immediate pulse of contemporary art and supports the work of emerging Latino / Latin American artists based in the New York Metropolitan area.
  • Founded in 2000, the Biennial focuses on presenting the recent advances in contemporary electronic art and also includes a conference section, and a forum for discussion.
  • This Encounter is committed to exploring the intense relationships between contemporary art from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, making Valencia the point of reference in Europe and a cultural platform for contemporary Latin American art.
  • A calendar of all current exhibitions, including exhibitions on tour plus an archive of online exhibitions on subjects including Bob Hope, the Gettysburg Address, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • Founded in 1999,the Biennale generates and showcases original projects, concepts and ideas in different formats: conferences, screenings, exhibitions, urban interventions, workshops and debates. Staged in a variety of venues, they give rise to alternative visitor itineraries and original ways of exploring the host city.
  • Founded in 2008, the festival is dedicated to international contemporary art and its protagonists.
  • Conceived in 2008 by curator Andrea Schlieker, the Triennial is one of the most ambitious public art projects to be presented in England will focus on works specially commissioned for public spaces throughout Folkestone.
  • Organized by Takashi Murakami in 2007, the Festival is where artists from all over the world come together to exhibit their works. There is no particular screening of applicants. Any artist who is willing to create and present an original art work can take part in GEISAI.
  • 2008 marks the first year of the festival in its new biennial format hosting exhibitions, seminars, artists talks and other events specifically designed for the biennial.
  • Founded in 2001, the biennial has a pedagogic mission in terms of conveying contemporary art to the residents of Gothenburg and especially to the children and youth of the city.
  • Founded in 2002, organized by Guangdong Museum of Art and curated by a team of international curators.
  • The first biennial of contemporary art held in an Asian city and founded in 1995, it exhibits a diverse selection of art from around the world.
  • Founded in 1984, the biennial presents the work of artists who come from or have their cultural roots in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • The history of the festival dates back to the 1980s and the members of the Photographic Society in Finland who organized nine events every three to four years. Since 2000 the event has been known as Helsinki Photography Festival, and is organized by the Union of Artist Photographers in Finland. The Union also organizes the Triennial of Finnish Photography, and the annual Art Fair Suomi.
  • Internationale Architecture Biennale Rotterdam is an international urban research biennale founded in 2001 on the conviction that architecture is a public concern. It is an international festival of exhibitions, conferences, lectures and other activities devoted to themes in the field of architecture and urbanism.
  • Founded in 2004, the biennial exhibition is to act as an open window onto the world of free thought, of new trends, of reinterpretations and new dynamic proposals in other words, onto the world of contemporary art.
  • Founded in 1984 and modeled after La Biennale di Venezia.
  • The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts has been organizing the International Istanbul Biennial since 1987. The biennial aims to create a meeting point in Istanbul in the field of visual arts between artists from diverse cultures and the audience.
  • Established in 1997, the Biennial is organized by the Centre international d'art contemporain de Montreal (CIAC) presenting a selection of recent and yet unseen works produced by internationally known and emerging artists.
  • Founded in 1895, the biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art held at individual pavilions owned by the participating countries and other venues in Venice. The Foundation also organizes the International Architecture Exhibition, the International Film Festival, and the Festival of Contemporary Music and Theatre.
  • Founded in 1995, the biennial is usually curated by one or two guest curators.
  • A project of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, this site provides links to online library exhibitions, browsable in alphabetical order by exhibition title.
  • Founded in 1998, the biennial aims to be an internationally acclaimed exhibition showing significant new works by artists commissioned to create works specially for the City of Liverpool.
  • Founded in 2000, the festival puts the emphasis on site-specific and commissioned work by local and international artists.
  • Founded in 2007, the exhibition focuses on current positions in contemporary art by a younger generation of German and international artists who live and work in Germany.
  • Founded in 1997, the biennial and its related activities are an initiative of the International Foundation of Manifesta in Amsterdam. It is the only itinerant biennial in the world, and its parameters change every two years.
  • Founded in 2004, the main idea of the biennale is mediation, a dialogue between different cultures of the world, based on the experience and exploration of the culture and art of Central Europe.
  • In 2007, the sheer scale of the Grand Palais inspired a truly gigantic idea of each year inviting a major artist to create a work specially for the enormous volumes offered by the Nave.
  • Founded in 2005 the biennale is organized by a group of international curators and presented by the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communication, the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, and the Moscow Biennale Art Foundation.
  • Organized in 2008 by Nam June Paik Art Center, the Festival celebrates video art produced by international artists.
  • Founded in 2000 and held at Cooper- Hewitt National Design Museum, the triennial brings together the experimental designs and emerging ideas at the center of American culture.
  • Available in Dutch or English.
  • Find out about exhibitions currently taking place at HSSL.
  • Founded in 1960, the Salon was an event presenting solely the art scene of Serbia and Montenegro. This changed in 2004 when it was decided that the future Salons should be international in character with the purpose to engage in dialogue with the international art scene.
  • Founded and held in Panamas Museum of Contemporary Art since 1992 the Biennial has experienced a process of constant renovation, from its initial stages as a painting competition to its present status as a contemporary art exhibition that includes all artistic media.
  • Founded in 2005, it includes a substantial daily schedule of live performances, parallel exhibitions and an integrated educational component that will provide critical and historical context for new work.
  • In 1997 the Romanian artist Matei Bejenaru founded Periferic in the form of a performance festival. In 2001 it was transformed into an international art biennial by Vector Association, a non-profit cultural and artistic association, which promotes contemporary art in the local context.
  • Founded in 1998, the festival is one of the largest international forums for photography, attracting more than six hundred thousand people to see photography projects, videos and installations by the most important national and international photographers and visual artists.
  • Founded in 2003 with a focus on the cultures and stories of Central Europe as well as works by artists from the rest of the world.
  • Founded in 2008, the biennial has been designed to help reinvigorate New Orleans following the human, civic, and economic devastation left by Katrina in 2005. The long-term primary goal of the biennial exhibition is to redefine the city as a cultural destination, where the visual arts are celebrated and can once again thrive.
  • Founded in 1996, the biennial presents the work of Chinese and international artists under the direction of rotating curatorial teams.
  • Founded in 1993, the biennial presents various attempts in visual arts and film that address the growing social, political and environmental challenges the world is facing due to excessive urban development, pollution, political ambitions, and the thoughtless misuse, abuse and exhaustion of natural resources.
  • Founded in 2006, the biennial is an exhibition of contemporary art organized by the National Arts Council of Singapore.
  • Founded in 1995 the primary mission of the biennial is to give independent curators the freedom to present unique international exhibitions within the context of our museum that incorporate site-specific projects that may otherwise be difficult to execute in larger institutions.
  • Initiated in 1977 by Kasper Konig, this international exhibition showcases site-specific sculptural works every ten years.
  • Get information abot current and upcoming exhibitions and openings at the Smithsonian Institute's museums & galleries, as well as its affiliate museums and traveling exhibits.
  • Founded in 2008, the Biennial focuses on sculptural works by international artists.
  • Founded in 1998, the biennial is an exhibition of contemporary art curated by a duo team of Taiwanese and foreign courators.
  • Founded in 2000 with a full focus on contemporary British art in all media.
  • Since its inception in 1907, the biennial has been dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists.
  • Founded in 2007, the triennial takes place at several venues throughout Lisbon. It intends to simultaneously enrich the strategies related to urban policies and to increase the existing relationship between the inhabitants and their city.
  • Organized by the Musee dart contemporain de Montreal in 2008, the Triennial is the product of extensive fieldwork and deliberation by the museums team of curators, who comb countless exhibitions and artists studios to provide viewers with a group portrait of the current artistic scene in Quebec.
  • Founded in 2000, the biennial has continually served as a stage for the historical evolution of new media art.
  • Founded in 2006, the festival is an international contemporary art project, which strives to combine the creative energy of the cultural scene in Central and Eastern Europe with emerging talents and trends from around the world.
  • Founded in 2005 and organized by the Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and GAM Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Torino. The Triennial aims at displaying the most innovative productions in the field of visual arts.
  • Founded as a biennial in Monza in 1923, the triennial format began in 1933 in Milan. It focuses on all the various aspects of design including fashion, and is held at the Palazzo dell'Arte which also has a permenant collection of Italian design.
  • The quadrennial founded in 2008 for the future vitality of the Danish contemporary art scene, creating a structure that stimulates openness, curiosity, consequence and uncompromised visions.
  • Founded in 2005, the biennial shows how architecture and design, in the past and present, have looked for answers to social and cultural questions connected to innovation, quality and sustainability.
  • Founded in Bonn in 1984, Videonale is the organizer of one of the oldest video festivals in the world. Since then the festival has grown steadily, and has developed in this field into a leading institution for current video art. Since 2004, Videonale has been using the premises of the Kunstmuseum Bonn, making a meaningful complement to the video pioneers from the bequest of Ingrid Oppenheim, who as an art collector and patron of the arts laid the ideal foundations of today's VIDEONALE in the late 1970s.
  • The Whitney's signature panoramic survey of the latest in American art is the series of biennials inaugurated by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney in 1932.
  • Founded in 2001 the triennial showcases new cutting-edge contemporary art from around the globe, and features many site-specific works highlighting the distinctive characters of the host city.