The 1st Antarctic Biennale
The first mobile biennale set off on Friday from Ushuaia, Argentina, shipping dozens of artists, film-makers and support staff in the research vessel to the Antarctic. The biennale costs well over $1 million, funded by Eugene Kaspersky, head of one of the biggest cyber-security firms in the world based in Russia, and Qiao Zhibing, one of the leading buyers of international contemporary art in China.
The Antarctic Biennale will culminate in the opening of an exhibition on April 20 at the Antarctic Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. With a focus on “reimagining the future of shared spaces”, the project takes to its core ‘Antarctic culture’ as a model for global development; reinvigorating the art world with questions of “supra-nationality, inter-disciplinary, and inter-culturality.” French documentary-maker, Denis Delestrac, will premiere a documentary on the project conceived of as a floating studio, conference and exhibition space, seeking to reimagine the traditional art event format. Further details via Biennial Foundation.
Antarctic Pavilion in Venice © Antarctic Biennale
Green Light for refugees at 2017 Venice Biennale
Designed by Olafur Eliasson, the “Green Light” project will see around 60 refugees living in and around Mestre, along with local migrants and students, collaborate on assembling the “polyhedral luminaire”: lights, made from recycled materials, priced at €300.
Eliasson sees Green Light as both “a pragmatic response, and a cultural strategy.” The light-making will be accompanied by artistic workshops involving language courses, film screenings and other activities, with profits going towards supporting the project. The project will run through June 6 at Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) in Venice, however Studio Olafur Eliasson and founding partner TBA21 are working with the local government to bring the project to the Biennale from May until November.
Olafur Eliasson, 2016. Wood (European ash), recycled yogurt cups (PLA), used plastic bags, recycled nylon, LED (green), 35 x 35 x 35 cm. Photo / Thilo Frank & David de Larrea Remiro / Studio Olafur Eliasson © Olafur Eliasson
New build for Congolese Plantation Workers Art League to open on April 21
The Lusanga International Research Centre on Art and Economic Inequality has announced the opening of a new building on April 21.
Pioneering arts equality and sustainability in the Congo, the build follows “The Matter of Critique” symposium held in Berlin and Lusanga in 2015, by the Cercle D’Art Des Travailleurs De Plantation Congolaise (Congolese Plantation Workers Art League) and the Amsterdam-based Institute for Human Activities.
The center will support artistic initiatives and exhibitions, including in an inaugural campaign titled “The Repatriation of the White Cube.” The Research Centre aims to focus on critiquing the material conditions necessary to cultivate a socially and economically profitable art community in rural areas for Congolese women. Their main query: “Can artistic engagement in global inequalities sustain economic growth in a poor regions? More available via The Art Newspaper
Jérémie Mabiala Massamba, Member of the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League © Human Activities
Bienal Arte Joven announces call for applicants in Buenos Aires
Eleven young artists from several countries are invited to the workshop organised by the Bienal Arte Joven Buenos Aires. The Swiss arts and cultural initiative, Pro Helvetia, has today launched a call for applications in connection with the arts platform Bienal Arte Jove.
Pro Helvetia will offer one Swiss artist (under age 32) in the field of theatre, dance, literature, music or visual arts the possibility of participating in the Campus Bienal International Residency, which takes place in Buenos Aires from July 24 to 30. Deadline for application is 20 April 2017 via Pro Helvetia
