Fourth edition of Oran biennial postponed

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President Tewfik Ali Chaouch announced today that the fourth edition of the The Mediterranean Biennale of Contemporary Art of Oran — organised in collaboration with independent visual arts association Civ.Oeil, due to take place between July 8 and 11 — has been cancelled, following a number of organisational issues.

“A subvention was blocked by the current mayor of Oran who has also refused to make the multimedia library in the cathedral's grounds available to us” organizers told HAPPENING.

Since its establishment in 2010, the biennial has brought together Algerian and international artists focusing on the newest practices in fine and visual arts, with the intention of restoring Oran’s status as the mediterranean “crossroads” of art and culture. This year’s edition — titled “Exode” (Exodus) — was to focus on the pressing issue of migration, caused by climate disasters, wars, colonization and other economic and political conflicts.

Ali Chaouch and Civ.Oeil have expressed their intention to reschedule the biennial’s fourth edition to a later time, citing the “success of the previous editions” and the uniqueness of the event, the first of its kind to be dedicated to contemporary art in Algeria.