Berlin 10117
Germany
The Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art is excited to announce the appointment of Vasyl Cherepanyn as the curator of the 14th Berlin Biennale, which will take place in the summer of 2027.
Vasyl Cherepanyn is a curator and researcher, working in and between the fields of art, political philosophy, and grassroots movements. His work has focused on the East European region in its post-Soviet condition, embracing a holistic approach of situating art and its publics in the current transformation of Europe. Building on this, Cherepanyn will evolve his plan for the 14th Berlin Biennale from within and in response to the the socio-political and cultural landscape of Berlin:
“Thinking the Berlin Biennale into the future, and curating it in the present, means fully committing oneself to the future of art and its mediation in the city, and to learn from its social contextualization in the process. Being an epitome of the historical period after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Biennale contains the potentiality of creating a kind of publicness defined not just artistically or academically but out of social-political necessity. In my case, such an approach is particularly based on experience working in Ukraine. It is especially required now, as Russia’s colonial war confronts us with the most pressing questions of our time throughout Europe.” (Vasyl Cherepanyn)
Cherepanyn was unanimously selected by an international selection committee: Akiko Miki (Director, Naoshima New Museum of Art / International Artistic Director, Benesse Art Site Naoshima), Emma Enderby (Director, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin), Julia Grosse (Strategic Consulting and Conceptual Development, Gropius Bau, Berlin / Co-Founder, Contemporary And (C&) / Lecturer, University of the Arts Berlin), Marina Naprushkina (Artist, Berlin), Marta Kuzma (Curator / Professor of Art, Yale School of Art, Yale University, New Haven), Nicola Trezzi (former Director and Curator, CCA Tel Aviv-Yafo / Curator, Pinacoteca Agnelli, Turin), and Pablo José Ramírez (Curator, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles).
Axel Wieder, Director of the Berlin Biennale, on the appointment: “I would like to thank the members of the selection committee for their expertise and professional work throughout the selection process. Vasyl Cherepanyn brings a distinctive perspective to the 14th Berlin Biennale, not only in his geographical background, but also in his curatorial approach, focusing on collective artistic endeavors that are deeply grounded in current social contexts and their urban surroundings. The Berlin Biennale team and I warmly welcome Vasyl Cherepanyn. We are very much looking forward to working together!”
Vasyl Cherepanyn was born in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, and currently lives in Berlin. He is the co-founder and head of the Visual Culture Research Center (VCRC), a platform for collaboration among academic, artistic, and activist communities. VCRC organizes the Kyiv Biennial and is a founding member of the East Europe Biennial Alliance (EEBA). Cherepanyn is part of the curatorial team of the Kyiv Biennial, including the current edition at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Dnipro Center for Contemporary Culture, Dovzhenko Centre in Kyiv, and Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz which will conclude at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in 2026. He has curated and organized exhibitions and lectured at several universities across Europe. He holds a PhD in philosophy and is also a writer and editor.
The Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art takes place every two years at different locations in Berlin. Since its first edition in 1998, the Berlin Biennale has been committed to create experimental exhibition and event programs, together with renowned curators, presenting bold artistic and political positions in dialogue with Berlin’s urban space. Each edition brings together artists, thinkers, and interested audiences from different areas of society, opening up a dialogue with the inhabitants of the city.
The Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art is organized by KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e. V. The Berlin Biennale is funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). The Kulturstiftung des Bundes is funded by the Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media).
