This year Sydney presents its 22nd Bienniale. Titled ‘Nirin’ – a Wiradjuri word meaning “edge” – with the accompanying public program titled ‘Nirin Wir’,or “edge of the sky”, it has been curated by Brook Andrew – an artist we are very familiar with from his recent NGV survey show ‘The Right to Offend is Sacred’. Showcasing more than 100 artists and collectives from 36 countries, the theme of being ‘on the edge’ is the key to making sense of the various approaches and artworks that can be found in the six venues: Cockatoo Island, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Art School and Artspace in Sydney, and Campbelltown Arts Centre on the south-western edge of the city. This biennale, as distinct from previous years, sets out to give voice to artists of colour and from First Nations who have been marginalised by a Eurocentric art world. Reviews of the biennale by Andrew Frost can be found in The Guardian on 13 March: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/mar/13/sydney-biennale-2020-first-nations-art-upends-eurocentrism-in-powerful-occasionally-confounding-show; and by Felicity Fenner in The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/sydney-biennale-review-an-incisive-global-perspective-on-deeper-crises-131203
Unfortunately, due to the current climate, the event closed to the public last week. As we are unable to attend the best we can experience will be a virtual tour which will be online soon through the Biennale website. In the meantime, MUMA (Monash University) has provided a ‘short walk through’: https://issuu.com/mumamonash/docs/biennale_of_sydney. Other information can be found in the Biennale enewsletter: https://mailchi.mp/86d48c1b52a8/get-ready-to-experience-the-22nd-biennale-of-sydney-online?e=5982971fa0
If you are interested in hearing Brook’s thoughts on the Biennial, he will be ‘in conversation’ with Vicki McInnes on Thursday 2 April at 12.30pm. This event is part of the Victorian College of the Arts online art forum and can be accessed via a zoom link: https://unimelb.zoom.us/j/736260185. Zoom (for those unfamiliar) is a conferencing portal and is becoming a regular part of online communication. You might want to try this as a first ‘zoom experience’.