Infinite Freedom, a World for a Feminist Democraty

Entitled Infinite Freedom, a World for a Feminist Democraty and dedicated to the exclusive invitation of around 50 women artists and architects, the 2022 Art and Architecture Biennale of Frac Centre-Val de Loires primarily intended as a festival geared towards a new imaginary founded on equality, in which various social, militant, and artistic readings cohabitate, with a view to instilling a new kind of common sense.

Pursuing feminist commitment
In the wake of the constant battles for freedom throughout history, that which seems the most urgent and among the most threatened, remains that of the feminist struggle. In 2017 and 2019, the Biennales organised by the Frac Centre-Val de Loire paved the way to exhibiting women artists and architects. In this sense, the recent exhibitions and acquisitions have been reinforcing the idea whereby the creation of a memory of women artists is a civil, social, and political responsibility that the Frac Centre-Val de Loire is committed to, as a public institution. The concept of “feminist democracy” that we borrow from author Marie-Cécile Naves gives rise to several questions that lie at the heart of the Biennale: which cities and urbanism programmes are devised by and for women? How can their productions emerge from their invisibility? What interpretation of the history of the arts can be seen through the lens of feminisms?

A local biennale for Vierzon
Frac Centre-Val de Loire, in its capacity as a regional institution for the dissemination and advocacy of contemporary art, maintains its position within the territorial fabric. Maintaining a fruitful partnership with the city since 2018, Vierzon’s candidacy was very naturally retained to host the event. Armed with its industrial and agricultural character, at the intersection of five rivers, we have used this context to set the scene of the Biennale. The majority of the artworks devised by the artists and architects emerge from a conversation with the city: its history, present, inhabitants and dreams for the future. This is how the Biennale has become an event driving the urban, architectural, and artistic dynamic, as much as it is also a moment for building harmonious community relations.

The landscapes of the biennale
The first powerful act of this event will be that of its occupation of public space. The works by the artists and architects, designed in resonance with the city, will sketch out new urban practices through their integration within the landscapes of everyday life. In parallel, the exhibition The World Built by Women will bring together three French collections (Centre Pompidou, Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, and Frac Centre-Val de Loire) and will explore the plurality of the productions created by women architects, from social housing to memorial sites. Throughout the Biennale, Tiers Féminisme, at once a forum for debates and cultural programming, will invite Vierzon women artist and architects to interact together, to think about an ideal society and accompany the transformations of public policies and civilian actions.

Artists and architects
New productions and collection’s works

Ana Maria Arévalo Gosen, Louisa Babari, Sophie Berthelier et Véronique Descharrières, Tatiana Bilbao, Flora Bouteille, Agence d’architecture Bientôt: Delphine Charnacé, Tifenn Taillandier, Charles Poulain, Gabriel Violleau et Gautier Martin, Candice Breitz, Iwona Buczkowska, Clémentine Chalançon, Jenny Charreton, Katharina Cibulka, Rokhaya Diallo, Wendy Delorme, Férielle Doulain, feminist architecture collaborative: Virginia Black, Rosana Elkhatib et Gabrielle Printz, Renée Gailhoustet, Zaha Hadid, Clarisse Hahn, Angela Hareiter, Anne Houel, Saba Innab, Flora Jamar, Mouna Jemal Siala, Hanna Kokolo, Anne Lacaton, Cécile Le Talec, Brigitte Mahlknecht, Maria Mallo Zurdo, Anna Ponchon, Anila Rubiku, Leïla Saadna, Mairea Séguí-Buenaventura, Pascale de Senarclens, Giovanna Silva, TAKK: Mireia Luzárraga et Jandro Muiño, Ségolène Thuillart, Laure Tixier, Elvira Voynarovska.

Places and schools: École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Bourges, École Polytechnique de Valence et Antre-Peaux.

Curators: Marine Bichon, Nabila Metaïr and Abdelkader Damani