What is BIENALSUR?

An expansive proposal for contemporary art, culture and reflection. 

From the south of the world we make BIENALSUR, organised by the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (UNTREF), a public university in Argentina, the Foro del Sur Foundation and a network of public and private institutions in more than 80 cities in 30 countries.

It is a different kind of biennial: decentralised, democratic, horizontal and humanistic, embracing the issues of today's world.

From its Km 0 at MUNTREF (Museums of the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero) Hotel de Inmigrantes venue in the City of Buenos Aires, to Tokyo, BIENALSUR maps out a new cartography for contemporary art that spans 18,370 kilometres, simultaneously connecting art spaces, creators, audiences and communities from all continents.

As of 2015, a series of Global South meetings were held that gave rise to a dynamic project rooted in dialogues, exchanges and presentations making up a diverse and sustained public programme. BIENALSUR was subsequently built on this foundation.

The first edition of BIENALSUR was held in 2017, featuring the participation of more than 400 artists across approximately 80 venues in 34 cities spanning 16 countries. In 2019, the map extended its reach, encompassing 112 venues in 47 cities in 21 countries. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2021, the biennial took place in 120 venues across 48 cities in 24 countries of the Americas, Asia and Europe. Over 1800 artists from all over the world participated throughout the first three editions. In 2023 the fourth edition of BIENALSUR took place in more than 70 cities in 28 countries on 5 continents. With the participation of more than 700 artists and 64 curators.

How do we work? 

Unprecedented in its methodology, BIENALSUR incorporates works and projects that arise from open, free, international calls without pre-established topics. This inclusive approach aims to encourage artists and curators to conceive specific proposals without the constraints of predetermined themes, and to pursue their own explorations.From the Open Call emerge the itineraries as the primary curatorial axes of each edition. The selection criterion for the projects is the quality of each submission, both in conceptual and aesthetic terms.

With a steadfast determination to explore alternative dynamics for art and culture in the pursuit of new logics of artistic and social circulation both locally and globally, BIENALSUR continues to uphold the right to culture and diversity. Artists, curators, institutions, and communities from various corners of the world will join forces with growing simultaneity. amplifying their efforts to actively address contemporary challenges.

BIENALSUR Recognitions

Since 2019 BIENALSUR has the General Patronage of UNESCO.
Also in 2019 the platform incubated at UNTREF was selected as a cultural project for the International Forum for Peace, Paris.
2021 BIENALSUR was distinguished by the Jorge Luis Borges International Foundation.
2022 BIENALSUR received the Konex Award as a cultural institution.
2023 BIENALSUR received the Gratis Artis prize awarded by the National Academy of Fine Arts.

Who makes BIENALSUR?

The people in charge of this project are professionals dedicated to the management of public spaces for training and development, specialised in the area of art and culture. Incubated in the UNTREF, it has its rector emeritus, Aníbal Jozami, as general director and the vice-rector and director of the Area of Art and Culture, Diana Wechsler, as artistic director. They are joined by the International Curatorial Council, a team of curators and a small team of producers.

ANÍBAL JOZAMI

/ GENERAL DIRECTOR OF BIENALSUR

Aníbal Jozami is a sociologist specialized in International Relations, a businessman and an art collector. He is the rector emeritus of the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero and the Director of the museums of the same university (MUNTREF). In 1993, Jozami founded the Foro del Sur Foundation, a nongovernmental organization whose mission is to gather political, business and academic leaders to formulate state policies for South America. In 2015 the culture ministers of the South American countries, endorsed the BIENALSUR project because of the interest for the region and its global projection. He was distinguished for the French Republic with the Chevalier of the Ordre of the arts and the Ordre al Merit.

DIANA WECHSLER

/ ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BIENALSUR

Diana Wechsler has a doctorate in Art History, is a CONICET (National Council for Scientific and Technical Research) researcher and a curator. Vice Rector of the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero (UNTREF), artistic director of the museums of the same university (MUNTREF), she also directs the Instituto de Investigación en Arte y Cultura Dr. Norberto Griffa and the Master in Curatorial Studies at UNTREF. Professor of Argentine Art at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), she has obtained scholarships and grants such as the Getty Foundation Postdoctoral Scholarship and the awards for Art Essays and Curatorships from the International Association of Art Critics and Scientific Production of the Argentine Senate. Selected as a member of the Abattoirs Acquisition Committee, Frac Occitanie Toulouse, she was distinguished by the French Republic with the honorary title of Chevalier des Palmes Académiques.