Biennale of Sydney

The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is the largest and best-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country^{[citation needed]}. Alongside the Venice and São Paolo biennales and Documenta, it is one of the longest running exhibitions of its kind and was the first biennale to be established in the Asia-Pacific region.

History 1973–2010

In 1973 the Biennale of Sydney held its first exhibition of 37 artists in the exhibition hall of the then newly opened Sydney Opera House.

• 1973, The Biennale of Sydney, Anthony Wintherbotham, Coordinator
• 1976, Recent International Forms in Art, Thomas G. McCullough, Artistic Director
• 1979, European Dialogue, Nick Waterlow, Artistic Director
• 1982, Vision in Disbelief, William Wright, Artistic Director
• 1984, Private Symbol: Social Metaphor, Leon Paroissien, Artistic Director
• 1986, Origins, Originality + Beyond, Nick Waterlow, Artistic Director
• 1988, From the Southern Cross: A View of World Art c1940–1988, Nick Waterlow, Artistic Director
• 1990, The Readymade Boomerang: Certain Relations in 20th Century Art, René Block, Artistic Director
• 1992/3, The Boundary Rider, Tony Bond, Artistic Director
• 1996, Jurassic Technologies Revenant, Dr Lynne Cooke, Artistic Director
• 1998, Every Day, Jonathan Watkins, Artistic Director
• 2000, International Selection Committee: Nick Waterlow (Chair), Fumio Nanjo, Louise Neri, Hetti Perkins, Sir Nicholas Serota, Robert Storr, Harald Szeemann.
• 2002, (The World May Be) Fantastic Richard Grayson, Artistic Director
• 2004, On Reason and Emotion, Isabel Carlos, Curator
• 2006, Zones of Contact, Dr Charles Merewether, Artistic Director & Curator
• 2008, Revolutions - Forms That Turn, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Artistic Director
• 2010, THE BEAUTY OF DISTANCE, Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age, David Elliott, Artistic Director, 17th Biennale of Sydney
• 2012, all our relations, Artistic Directors, Catherine de Zegher and Gerald McMaster

2002 Biennale

The 2002 Biennale of Sydney titled (The World May Be) Fantastic investigated 'artists and practices using fictions, narratives, invented methodologies, hypotheses, subjective belief systems, modellings, fakes and experiments as a means to make works.'. Writing in Art in America in October, 2002, Michael Duncan said of the exhibition that it "gave free rein to complex, often offbeat works predicated on alternate realities." Artists included: Mike Nelson, Chris Burden, Susan Hiller, Vito Acconci, Eleanor Antin, Henry Darger, Janet Cardiff and Rodney Graham. Richard Grayson was the Artistic Director.

2004 Biennale

Sydney Biennale 2004 - Jimmie Durham's Still Life with Stone and Car in front of the Sydney Opera House

The 2004 Biennale of Sydney was held from 4 June - 15 August and titled On Reason and Emotion. It featured the work of 51 artists from 32 countries. Much of the exhibition was sited within Sydney’s major art museums and galleries, however a number of new projects were created for specific sites at outdoor locations within the city, such as the Royal Botanic Gardens and the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. Isabel Carlos was the Curator.

2006 Biennale

The 2006 Biennale of Sydney was held from 8 June - 27 August and titled Zones of Contact. It featured the work of 85 artists from 44 countries and was held across 16 diverse venues throughout Sydney including Pier 2/3, at Walsh Bay, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Dr Charles Merewether was the Artistic Director and Curator.

A record of 316,811 visits were recorded over all venues. The festival included a wide range of works and mediums including installation, sculpture, performance, video, sound, photography and painting. 53 artists created 80 new works specifically for the exhibition in response to the concept 'Zones of Contact'. The festival also featured three two-day symposia, over 50 talks, education programs and an 'Art Walk' along the harbour foreshore between principal exhibition venues.

2008 Biennale

The 16th Biennale of Sydney, Revolutions – Forms That Turn, took place from 18 June – 7 September 2008 with leading international curator and writer Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev as Artistic Director. It achieved record visitation of 436,150 and featured 175 artists from 42 countries.

Cockatoo Island, a former prison and shipyard, was used as a major new venue and won the Biennale a Sydney Music, Arts and Culture (SMAC) Award. Other venues included; Art Gallery of NSW, Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay, Museum of Contemporary Art, Artspace, Sydney Opera House and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The 16th Biennale of Sydney was awarded Australian Event of the Year & Best Cultural or Arts Event at the 2009 Australian Event Awards.

2010 Biennale

The 17th Biennale of Sydney, titled THE BEAUTY OF DISTANCE: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age, was held from 12 May – 1 August 2010. Under the Artistic Direction of international curator David Elliott, 444 works by 167 artist and collaborators were selected from 36 countries, making it the largest exhibition staged in the organisations 37-year history.

Venues included Cockatoo Island, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney Opera House, Artspace and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The 17th Biennale of Sydney achieved record attendance of more than 517,000 visits across all venues with 68 artists premiering new works made especially for the exhibition. The 17th Biennale of Sydney’s SuperDeluxe@Artspace programme which combined gallery, performance space and bar was awarded Best Arts Event by popular vote at the 2010 Sydney Music, Arts and Culture (SMAC) Awards as well as being a finalist in the Best Major Festival category. The 17th Biennale of Sydney was also a finalist at the 2010 Australian Event Awards in the Best Cultural or Arts Event category.

2012 Biennale

18th Biennale of Sydney
27 June – 16 September 2012
Artistic Directors, Catherine de Zegher and Gerald McMaster

External links

• Biennale of Sydney site
• 2008 Biennale of Sydney site
• 2006 Biennale of Sydney site
• Feature on 2006 Biennale of Sydney - Artkrush.com, June 2006
• Photos from Biennale of Sydney 2006 on Flickr