TURN is an artistic project aimed at fostering the exchange of knowledge among people from diverse backgrounds and it engages with minority communities to later develop artistic exhibitions. Its aim is to celebrate the differences among human beings and diverse cultures, as well as to promote the exchange of knowledge and traditions. Designed by Japanese artist and academic Katsuhiko Hibino, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts, TURN was launched in 2015 as one of the flagship projects of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Building upon the actions conducted in the 2017, 2019, and 2021 editions, BIENALSUR, in collaboration with TURN, undertakes a network-based project in 2025 that, from the perspective of contemporary art, will connect different territories to activate the artistic and cultural configurations and practices emerging from each of them.
With a cross-residency format, this edition of the project focuses on the exchange of knowledge related to cultures developed by people with hearing impairments in both Japan and Argentina. In this context, the Argentine sound artist Juan Sorrentino—who is also a professor and researcher at UNTREF—undertook a residency in Tokyo. There, he developed activities that connected his work with the visual, sensory, tactile, and inaudible experiences of sound. The Japanese artist Asuka Shikiba engages with Argentina through a similar dynamic.
The synergy between TURN and BIENALSUR is further strengthened by the collaboration between the Tokyo University of the Arts and UNTREF, both of which serve as incubators for this joint programme.
