BIENALSUR unveiled its 2025 program at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Now in its fifth edition, the world’s largest cultural platform continues to grow, adding new venues to its ever-expanding transnational map. In doing so, it reaffirms its commitment to building a contemporary humanism—one that views art as a powerful tool for sparking sensory and intellectual experiences among the widest possible audiences. Alongside Aníbal Jozami, General Director of BIENALSUR, and Diana Wechsler, its Artistic Director, the event featured Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and the acclaimed Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, who serves as the Honorary Patron of this special edition. Renowned for his deep commitment to creative resistance and humanist values, Pistoletto has also been nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. “Art points to the direction the world should take. This initiative is built on that belief. Art, religion, politics, and science must walk together to achieve peace,” emphasized Pistoletto, a seminal artist who joined BIENALSUR for this symbolic launch at UNESCO. With a continually expanding geography, BIENALSUR spans 19,640 kilometers across five continents. Present in 140 venues across 78 cities, the biennial brings visibility to the work of more than 400 artists engaging with some of the most pressing issues of our time: environmental crises, human rights, migration, memory, artificial intelligence, and possible futures. “Our goal is clear: to reach audiences wherever they are,” stated Aníbal Jozami during the presentation, which was attended by over 20 journalists. “We believe art is a vehicle for reflection, transformation, and emancipation. When presented as a shared experience, it helps assert the role of individuals as active citizens rather than passive consumers of culture. That’s why we continue developing this platform open to experimentation, debate, and the collective construction of a contemporary humanism.” In response to the volatility and urgency of today’s world, BIENALSUR stays in motion—adapting constantly and maintaining an active dialogue with curators and institutions that join its growing community. It continues to promote the right to culture through exhibitions that map new logics of artistic and social circulation. “In the midst of the unregulated and indiscriminate flow of images and information, we develop projects that help ‘create meaning,’ said Diana Wechsler, BIENALSUR’s Artistic Director. “Our work is driven by desire, imagination, creativity, flexibility, adaptability, and diversity. We aim to encourage reflection rather than deliver solutions.” Incubated at UNTREF (National University of Tres de Febrero, a public university in Argentina) and organized in collaboration with the Foro del Sur Foundation, BIENALSUR, now in its fifth edition, has established itself as an innovative model of cultural management and international cooperation. The 2025 edition will launch on June 26 in Bogotá, Colombia, at the Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá (MAMBO) and the Museum of the Bank of the Republic. It will then travel to other key locations, including the Instituto Cervantes in Shanghai. China, Canada, Hungary, Mozambique, Norway, Panama, Poland, South Africa, and Timor-Leste are among the countries that have recently joined the initiative. The network is also expanding within countries already part of the BIENALSUR community. In Italy, for example, Milan, Bologna, Naples, and Biella have joined the project. In Biella, home to Cittadellarte Onlus—founded by Michelangelo Pistoletto—a residency program and an exhibition will take place. In Spain, new locations include Irún, Santiago de Compostela, and Cádiz at the Centro Cultural Unicaja. Numerous public and private institutions from across the globe continue to be part of the BIENALSUR community, including the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid and Les Abattoirs, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Toulouse. In Argentina, the 10th anniversary celebration will take place on July 5 at Kilometer 0—MUNTREF Contemporary Art Center, located in the former Immigrants’ Hotel in Buenos Aires. Let’s Play / Juguemos en el mundo, a curatorial proposal that will extend across several BIENALSUR venues globally, will make its debut here alongside other projects.
