Who Will Lead The 16th Istanbul Biennial?
Nicolas Bourriaud, French curator, writer, scholar and founding director of Paris’ Palais de Tokyo, will curate the 16th edition of the Istanbul Biennial, running 14 September-10 November 2019
The Turkish city of Istanbul will see large-scale connected exhibitions come autumn 2019 when the 16th edition of the Istanbul Biennial opens, running 14 September through 10 November 2019. At the helm of the upcoming edition will be French curator, writer and scholar Nicolas Bourriaud, who is noted for being the founding co-director of Paris’ experimental contemporary art museum, Palais de Tokyo; Gulbenkian Curator of Contemporary Art at Tate Britain; director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts; and currently, is head of Montpellier Contemporain, due to open next year.
“Nicolas Bourriaud’s research embracing the idea of multiverse is vital for the thoughtful minds of today,” shared the biennial’s advisory board in a statement following the announcement. Its board consists of Iwona Blazwick, Ayşe Erek, İnci Eviner, Yuko Hasegawa and Agustín Pérez Rubio. “We strongly believe that Nicolas will develop an intriguing exhibition considering his esteemed curatorial and theoretical practice, his in-depth academic studies as well as his long term collaborations with artists, and active engagement with new generations.”
While full details are to be released in the coming months, Bourriaud will aim to create a citywide exhibition that references the global historical situation, and the current political era marked by binary thought.
The biennial is organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV).