9th Bienal do Mercosul l Porto Alegre: Weather Permitting
13 September–10 November 2013
Porto Alegre, Brazil
The promises of the 9th Bienal do Mercosul l Porto Alegre are to identify, propose and repurpose changing belief systems and appraisals of experimentation and innovation. It intends to raise ontological and technological questions through artistic practice, object making and nodes of experience. This edition of the biennial can be considered an environment in which to encounter natural resources and material culture in a new light, and to speculate on the bases that have marked distinctions between discovery and invention, as well as the values of both sustainability and entropy. The 9th Bienal do Mercosul | Porto Alegre is curated in three components: the exhibition Portals, Forecasts and Monotypes including existing and new work, projects created through collaborative commissions, performances and screenings; the initiative “Island Sessions,” involving field trips, discussions and an online publication, and a five-month art pedagogy program, “Cloud Formations,” designed for teachers, mediators, and the curious.
Artists
Allora & Calzadilla, Anthony Arrobo, Tarek Atoui, Nicolás Bacal, Luis F. Benedit, Bik Van der Pol, Christian Bök, Liudvikas Buklys, Audrey Cottin, Elena Damiani, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Jason Dodge, Fernando Duval, Faivovich & Goldberg, Cao Fei, Mario Garcia Torres, Hope Ginsburg, Juan Jose Gurrola, Hans Haacke, Malak Helmy, Fritzia Irizar, Eduardo Kac, Zhenia Kikodze for Yuri Zlotnikov, Fernanda Laguna, Suwon Lee, George Levantis, Ana Laura López de la Torre, Gilda Mantilla & Raimond Chavez, Nicholas Mangan, Allan McCollum, Cinthia Marcelle, David Medalla, Marta Minujín, Aleksandra Mir, Eduardo Navarro, Edgar Orlaineta, The Otolith Group, Trevor Paglen, Tania Pérez Córdova, Pratchaya Phinthong, William Raban, Sara Ramo, Luiz Roque, Grethell Rasua, Robert Rauschenberg, Thiago Rocha Pitta, Daniel Santiago, Mira Schendel, Beto Shwafaty, Lucy Skaer, Tony Smith, Daniel Steegmann, Vassilakis Takis, Sandrine Teixido & Aurelien Gamboni, Erika Verzutti, Jorge Villacorta of Alta Tecnologia Andina with Rodrigo Derteano, Jessica Warboys, David Zink Yi, Michel Zózimo
The artists especially commissioned to contribute with pictures or moving images for Island Sessions are Danilo Christidis, Fernanda Gassen, Romy Pocztaruk, Katia Prates, Leticia Ramos, Leonardo Remor and Tiago Rivaldo.
Graphic design and typography Porto Alegre created by Project Projects, NewYork. Website designed by Box3, Porto Alegre.
Curatorial team
Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy is the artistic director and chief curator of the 9th Bienal do Mercosul | Porto Alegre. The curatorial team includes Mônica Hoff, ground curator and head of Cloud Formations; Raimundas Malašauskas, time curator; Bernardo de Souza, space curator; and curatorial cloud fellows: Sarah Demeuse, Daniela Pérez, Júlia Rebouças, and Dominic Willsdon. Luiza Proença is the editorial coordinator.
Venues
The participating venues of the 9th Bienal do Mercosul | Porto Alegre include Usina do Gasômetro, Museu de Artes do Rio Grande do Sul – MARGS, Santander Cultural, and Memorial do Rio Grande do Sul. Performances and special programs take place at different venues in the city and its vicinity, including Teatro Bruno Kiefer in Porto Alegre, Ilha do Presídio in the Guaíba, and Fundação Vera Chaves Barcelo in Viamão.
Organizer
The 9th Bienal do Mercosul | Porto Alegre is organized by the Fundação Bienal de Artes Visuais do Mercosul. Created in 1996, the Fundação Bienal do Mercosul is a private, non-profit organization in Brazil with a mission is to develop cultural and educational projects in the field of visual arts, encouraging dialogues between contemporary artists and communities. Since its inception, the Fundação Bienal do Mercosul’s priorities have been educational.
Sponsors and supporters
Ministry of Culture / Federal Government – Realization; Pró-Cultura RS / Secretaria do Estado da Cultura do Rio Grande do Sul / Governo do Rio Grande do Sul – Funding; Gerdau – Master Sponsor; IBM – Smarter Sponsor; Itaú – Education Programme Sponsor; Santander – Sponsor of the Portals, Forecasts and Monotypes; Oi – Matinês Sponsor; CEEE – Cloud Formations 9th Bienal do Mercosul / Porto Alegre Sponsor; Grupo RBS, Pompéia, Renner Vonpar, Braskem and Évora – Support of the Education Programme; Prefeitura de Porto Alegre, Usina do Gasometro, Margs, Memorial do Rio Grande do Sul, Aliança Francesa, Oi Futuro, Canal Futura, Santander Cultural and Fundação Gaúcha de Bancos Sociais and Secretaria Municipal de Cultura de Porto Alegre – Institutional Support; Celulose Irani and Gerdau – Support gold of the program committee; Timac Agro – Diamond Incentive for the Education Programme; Triunfo Concepa – Platinum Incentive for the Education Programme
For more information, please contact:
Ariela Dedigo – Press Office
imprensa [at] birnalmercosul.art.br / T 55 51 3254 7532