Gwangju Biennale and Guangzhou Triennial Launch Asian Month Of Mega Exhibitsby Rat Western
September is the month to be in the Far East, where the last quarter of the year sees the opening of a large number of Biennales, Triennials and other mega scale exhibitions.
The line-up kicks off with the Gwangju Biennale in the Republic of Korea which opens on September 5. Following on, are the Busan Biennale 2008 - also in the Republic of Korea - and the Guangzhou Triennial in China, both opening on September 6. Next up are the Shanghai Biennial, opening September 9, the Singapore Biennale opening September 11 and the Seoul International Media Art Festival opening September 12. Finally on September 13 the Yokohama Triennale and the Taipei Biennial open. On exhibit is a wide range of not only Asian, but also international artists, curators and artistic directors.
Two of these events have strong ties to Africa and South Africa in particular. Firstly, the Gwangju Biennale is headed up by Okwui Enwezor in the position of artistic director and is co-curated by Hyunjin Kim and Ranjit Hoskote. One hundred and twenty seven artists from 36 countries are featured at this exhibition under the title 'Annual Report: A Year in Exhibitions'. The theme which has been designed as a report on the distribution system of artistic and cultural forms and as a reflection on the intermediary gap between artists, producers, practitioners, and audiences, is divided into three principal components.
Firstly, 'On the Road' is a report on 36 recent exhibitions that have taken place in the last year; 'Position Papers' is a platform dedicated to curatorial proposals and experiments in exhibition practices by curators working in Southeast Asia, North Africa, South Korea, and the United States. Finally, 'Insertions' presents a series of new and independent projects, either commissioned specifically for the biennale or invited as proposals into the exhibition framework.
Jo Ractliffe and Joachim Schonfeldt take part here. Schonfeldt receives an individual mention in the press release as one of the highlights of the Biennale and will be premiering his latest sculpture with accompanying composition (by fellow South African James French) at the exhibition. Other Africans featured on Gwangju Biennale are Adel Abdessemed (Algeria), David Adjaye (Ghana), Iman Issa (Egypt), Abdoulaye Konate (Mali) and Fatou Kande Senghor (Senegal).
Also with an African connection, the Guangzhou Triennial takes an interesting angle as its curatorial vision, which is to propose to say 'Farewell to Post-Colonialism'.
By making a critical review of the role the cultural discourses of Post-colonialism and Multi-culturalism have played in contemporary artistic practice, the Triennial endeavours to open new frontiers for current creativity. While affirming Post-colonialism's achievements in exposing hidden ideological agenda in society and inspiring new art, this Triennial also critically examines its limitations for creativity, and calls for a fresh start.
Given the theme, it is not surprising that over 21 Africans will be amongst the 181 artists from about 40 countries, many of whom have created new work for the Triennial.
New works by South Africans include Thembinkosi Goniwe's Dialogical Encounter, (an interactive new media work). Nicholas Hlobo, who apart from Visual Diary and Izinganda mathe, will present a performance at the opening ceremony, and Conrad Botes will produce a new mural entitled Noir Christi.
South Africans also dominate at the video screening programme, curated by Stina Edblom - who has worked and studied in Cape Town. On the screen are Dan Halter's Untitled (Zimbabwean Queen of Rave), 2005; Penny Siopis' Verwoerd speaks 1966, 1999; Lerato Shadi's Hema (or Six hours of out-breath captured in 792 balloons), 2007; Athi-Patra Ruga's Miss Congo, 2007; and two works by Sue Williamson: Wax in the City, 2007 and the collaborative project Comfort Zones, 2006 produced with Pat Ward Williams.
The Guangzhou Triennial is curated by Gao Shiming, Sarat Maharaj and Chang Tsong-zung assisted by research curators Dorothee Albrecht, Sopawan Boonnimitra, Stina Edblom, Tamar Guimaraes, Guo Xiaoyan, Steven Lam and Khaled D. Ramadan.
Gwangju Biennale
Opens: September 5
Closes: November 9
Guangzhou Triennial
Opens: September 6
Closes: November 16
The Gwangju Biennale Foundation
Jin-Kyung Jeong, Biennale 2-gil Buk-gu Gwangju, South Korea
Tel: +82 62 608 4264
Fax: +82 62 608 4269
Email: 1212jjk@gb.or.kr
www.gb.or.kr
Guangdong Museum of Art,
No. 38 Yanyu Road, Er-Sha Island, Guangzhou, China
Tel: +86 20 87351255/ 87351263
Fax: +86 20 87351403
Email: gztriennial.reception@gmail.com
gztriennial.reception@yahoo.com.cn
http://www.gdmoa.org/gztriennial
