Nuclear war and climate change key focus of next year’s Sydney Biennale
By Hannah Story
The Biennale of Sydney has announced its first round of artists for 2024, including Australians Kaylene Whiskey, Tracey Moffatt and William Yang.
A total of 13 Australian artists or collectives are on the first line-up for next year’s event, and will be joined by 26 artists or collectives from countries including Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand and France.
Biennale of Sydney artistic directors Inti Guerrero and Cosmin Costinas (centre), with artists Serwah Attafuah, Kirtika Kain and William Yang.Credit: James Brickwood
Co-curators Cosmin Costinas and Inti Guerrero also revealed the title for next year’s event, the 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns.
“This is, first and foremost, a statement about multiplicity,” explains Costinas.
“[We are] learning from the many stories of resilience that have existed around us. [It’s about] coming together in generosity, in a spirit of life affirmation, and building a different world together.”
The imagery of 10,000 suns, he adds, also brings to mind the threats of climate change and nuclear war. But that doesn’t mean the Biennale will be a grim event. “The Biennale is precisely a statement against apocalyptic thinking,” he says.
Instead, the event is drawing upon ideas of celebration from the carnivals of South America, from Mardi Gras, and from the queer community. “[We’re] trying to learn from artists how ways of collective joy and celebration can be a form of being critical and being resilient,” says Guerrero.
It also acknowledges the struggle and resistance of First Nations communities. “First Nations artists are showing and bearing witness to multiple stories of resilience, of cultural vibrancy, and affirmation of futures in spite of colonial cataclysms,” says Costinas.
In late 2020, the Biennale set up a “curatorium” from Sydney’s art institutions to work with then-curator Jose Roca on the 2022 edition. This year, Costinas and Guerrero have done away with the advisory group, saying that Roca’s decision was necessitated by pandemic travel restrictions, which are no longer an issue.
“We are lucky to be able to work in the post-pandemic reality,” Costinas says.
Serwah Attafuah makes digital art.Credit: Serwah Attafuah
Costinas and Guerrero, hailing from Romania and Colombia respectively, worked together in Asia and Berlin before taking on this role. They are part of a spate of rock-star international curators to helm the Biennale – only two Australian curators have been appointed since 2000 (Brook Andrew and Juliana Engberg).
Since they were appointed co-curators in May 2022, the Berlin-based Costinas and Guerrero embarked upon a number of trips around Australia, meeting with artists and members of the community. They visited places including the Tiwi Islands, Alice Springs, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra, trying to canvass a wide range of communities and perspectives.
Kirtika Kain makes intricately detailed works on reused silk screens.Credit: Luis Power
“Every artist studio visit is a world of its own,” says Guerrero. “It opens other possibilities, as other artists recommend more artists. It becomes such an enriching and wonderful experience.”
The Australian contingent at next year’s event includes Serwah Attafuah, Kirtika Kain, Darrell Sibosado, Bonita Ely and cyberfeminist collective VNS Matrix. The co-curators have also, as of this week, moved to Sydney to prepare for next year’s event. They will set up a home base here, but continue to travel back to Berlin.
Last year’s Biennale described those involved – including rivers – as “participants”. Next year will see a return to the use of the word “artist”. This is an effort to reposition people including Brazil’s Alberto Pitta as artists, rather than craftspeople, whose work is most commonly seen outside of the gallery space.
“We would like to highlight that all of these practices are art-making,” Guerrero says.
“The power of art is that it does change mindsets. It doesn’t change the world, but it does change mindsets … All of these artists are doing that and we’re quite excited to be presenting them.”
The 24th Biennale of Sydney runs from March 9 to June 10 at venues across Sydney.
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