7/6/2006
15th Biennale of Sydney
16 venues, Sydney
The conceptual framework is 'zones of contact' and the exhibition includes a range of some 80 artists from 40 countries around the world practising in all forms of the visual arts. These are places where lives interact and differences bloom. In overlapping cultures, customs and territories, there are pleasures as well as problems, especially against the battered silhouette of colonial history.
The 2006 Biennale of Sydney is organised around the conceptual framework Zones of Contact.
It will include 85 artists and collaborations from 57 cities in 44 countries making it one of the most ambitious, daring and challenging Biennales ever.
Artistic Director & Curator: Dr Charles Merewether
In 2006 the Biennale of Sydney will collaborate with arts organisations across Sydney, extending to more than 16 venues and sites.
Exciting new projects will be created for specific public sites and outdoor locations.
A program of performances, public talks, symposia and workshops that will be held over the duration of the Biennale of Sydney.
There is also an Australia-wide program involving galleries, art schools and organisations in a number of cities across Australia.
Over a quarter of a million people will experience the world in a different way when they attend Australia’s leading contemporary art event, the 2006 Biennale of Sydney. This year’s free exhibition and associated events features 85 of the world’s most dynamic and provocative artists from 44 countries. All eyes will be on Sydney as the Biennale claims the attention of people from all over the city and beyond when it opens in 16 venues from Circular Quay to Marrickville, Blacktown and Campbelltown.
One of the most challenging events of its kind, the Biennale of Sydney celebrates its 15th exhibition in 2006, making it one of the most established biennales in the world. This year’s event provides a chance to experience some of today’s most exciting artists, many of whom will show in Australia for the first time.
Over 50 of the 85 participating artists will be coming to Sydney for the event and special programs will give Australians unique access to some of the most creative minds working today.
The 2006 exhibition curated by leading art historian and curator, Dr Charles Merewether, pushes new
boundaries with a strong representation by artists from countries and regions that are rarely represented in major international festivals and biennales. The breadth of the exhibition sees groundbreaking artists come from cultures as diverse as Bosnia, Malaysia, Palestine, Japan, India, Canada, Lebanon, Singapore, Israel, Britain, Egypt, Latvia, China, Serbia & Montenegro, Bahrain, Russia, The Netherlands, Brazil, the United States, New Zealand and Kazakhstan.
Dr Charles Merewether is Artistic Director & Curator of the 2006 Biennale of Sydney; Merewether is
also Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National University.
An art historian, Charles was Collections Curator at the Getty Center in Los Angeles (1994-2004).
He has taught at the University of Sydney, Universidad Autonoma in Barcelona, the Ibero-Americana
in Mexico City and University of Southern California. He was a Research Fellow at Yale University
and, in 2003, Fellow at the Humanities Research Centre, ANU; he also received a Research Fellowship
from the Japan Foundation. Charles’s most recent publication is an edited book on Ai Weiwei.
He is currently writing a book on the cultural history of looting; preparing an exhibition and catalogue entitled ‘Art, Anti-Art and Non-Art’ on post-war Japanese art (1951-1970) for the Getty Center in Los Angeles in 2007; and an edited book on Art and the Archive will be published later this year by M.I.T Press and Whitechapel Gallery, London (2006).
Seven Australian artists will feature strongly in this international line-up, including indigenous artists Djambawa Marawili (Yilpara, NT) and Julie Gough (Townsville, QLD); Ruark Lewis (Sydney, NSW), Tom Nicholson (Melbourne, VIC), Rose Nolan (Melbourne, VIC), Imants Tillers (Cooma, NSW) and Savanhdary Vongpoothorn (Canberra, ACT).
Over 50% of the artworks shown in the Biennale will premiere in Sydney. Increased levels of private and public sector support has allowed the Biennale of Sydney to encourage artists to make new work and many of these new projects have been created in response to the exhibition framework Zones of Contact.
Artistic Director & Curator of the 15th Biennale of Sydney, Dr Charles Merewether has travelled the world visiting over 40 countries in 18 months and meeting more than 1,600 artists. “Zones of Contact is an exhibition about today. It deals with the issues of our time - the ideas and concerns that shape all our lives and our sense of the future" said Dr Merewether. “There is a general global movement that is reflected in Zones of Contact: the experience of having one’s homeland occupied or of living in another person’s culture and the sense of physical, psychological and cultural displacement that arises, along with the impact it has on the land, environment and sense of belonging. The exhibition also celebrates the positive interactions
between people, where connections are made and familiarity, understanding and intimacy is made possible.
Highlights of the exhibition include: Leading Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, architect of the Beijing Olympic Stadium will create an 8m layered map of the world (Art Gallery of New South Wales); prolific Chinese painter Liu Xiaodong, renowned for painting from life, will exhibit two new vibrant large scale paintings (Art Gallery of New South Wales); British artist Antony Gormley will create a massive installation of 180,000 terracotta figures, a human landscape that will transform the 140m long Pier 2/3 at Walsh Bay; Albanian-born, Italy based, Adrian Paci’s 5m high crystal chandelier powered by 10 generators will light up the pier; an inspiring sand sculpture and new series of bark paintings by leading indigenous Australian artist Djambawa Marawili will be opened with a ceremony featuring 10 Yirrkala community members (Pier 2/3); Imants Tillers, one of Australia’s best known contemporary artists, will create a new epic painting referring to the Australian landscape and colonial history (Museum of Contemporary Art); a captivating installation by leading Japanese-born artist Tomoko Mukaiyama will be at the Sydney Opera House involving
instrument, body and voice; Hayati Mokhtar & Dain-Iskandar Said will premiere a new film about shifting perceptions of the landscape along the east coast of Malaysia (Museum of Contemporary Art); New York artists Julie Mehretu and Stephen Vitiello will create a new work involving painting shaped by the music of Vitiello (Museum of Contemporary Art); artists Mona Hatoum (Museum of Contemporary Art) and Emily Jacir (SCA Galleries) will both be creating evocative new works; a bullet-ridden shipping container by Serbian artist Milica Tomic will confront viewers at Hyde Park Barracks and provide a chilling reminder of how many people died in Bosnia and Afghanistan during the recent wars; Palestinian-born, Israel based, Raeda Saadeh draws upon her experiences as a Palestinian woman in a performance at the Sydney Opera House; major Indian artist and filmmaker Amar Kanwar will present a 3 channel projection charting the recent history of India (Museum of Contemporary Art); and Indonesian-born Netherlands based Fiona Tan will create a new work from family album photography collected from dozens of residents of Sydney’s suburbs (Art Gallery of New South Wales).
Paula Latos-Valier, Managing Director of the Biennale of Sydney, said, “ Pier 2/3, a principal venue, provides a dramatic and historic interior that has inspired artists and the public alike since the Biennale of Sydney first transformed it 20 years ago in 1986. We are delighted to have this unique venue in this milestone exhibition to showcase some intriguing large-scale projects and one-off performances.
This amazing venue and the scale and breadth of this year’s Biennale would not have been possible without the increased funding received through the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments."
An extensive Public Program will be offered free over the 12 weeks of the exhibition. Highlights
include: free Artists’ Talks during the five days of opening week, featuring up to 50 artists; an exciting Film Program offered free at the Art Gallery of New South Wales; ‘Comfort Zones’ or information lounges at principal venues which will include visitor resources and feature interviews with artists; a series of three free Symposia presented in each month of the exhibition, featuring leading Australian and international speakers; one of the world’s leading curator’s, Rene' Block, gives the keynote address at the Museum of Contemporary Art on Friday 9 June (ticketed event); internationally respected curator and museum director, David Elliott, will also give a free keynote address on Saturday 10 June at the Art Gallery of New South Wales; a Public Preview of the exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales as part of art.afterhours
on Wednesday 7 June as well as a selection of other art.afterhours events throughout the exhibition; a national program of Masterclasses will provide opportunities for students in regional centres and cities throughout Australia to work directly with some of the outstanding international artists participating in the Biennale; and the Interstate Program will introduce our international visitors - artists, curators and art historians - to the Australian arts community through discussions, gallery tours and visits to leading arts organisations, educational institutions and museums throughout Australia.
Luca Belgiorno-Nettis, Chairman of the Biennale of Sydney, said, “The 2006 Biennale of Sydney sets a new benchmark: Charles Merewether has brought together an astonishing range of artists whose works evoke, on the whole, a poignancy rarely encountered in art exhibitions. Moreover, in terms of logistics, it is manifest that an event of this scale and reach is only possible with the continuing support of our generous public and private sector partners, in Australia and overseas. We hope the wider public is as captivated as we are by what Charles has shown us so far."
More info on the website or
for information, images and interviews
Trudy Johnston Communication, p 61(0) 2 9499 7658
Imogen Corlette, 61(0) 410 520776, imogen@tjc.com.au
Trudy Johnston, 61(0) 402 485902, trudy@tjc.com.au
Michelle Hanna +61 2 94997658 info@tjc.com.au