Chilean Video and Electronic Arts Corporation Organizes the Seminar: What is a biennal?

Image courtesy of the Chilean Video and Electronic Arts Corporation

Chilean Video and Electronic Arts Corporation
https://cchv.cl

More than a century after their first version in the world – Italy was a pioneer by founding the Venice Biennale in 1895 – biennials have emerged as essential milestones in the history of art, capable of generating dialogues and multidisciplinary exchanges between artists and agents, and cultures from various countries.

In Chile, the history of biennials dates back to 1963 when the Primera Bienal Americana de Grabado [First American Engraving Biennial ] was held at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo [Museum of Contemporary Art] in Santiago. Since then, more than ten of these gatherings have taken place in the country -the International Biennial of Arts of Valparaíso, the Biennial of Young Art and the Triennial of Chile, among others-, which have opened spaces for public discussion about the meaning of art in society. Some have managed to last over time, others are today part of a collective memory and are considered references to develop future initiatives in the field of culture.

In the history of biennials, we can find many of the keys to understand our past and shape the present. The seminar What is a biennial? aims to be a starting point to convene all the organizers of biennials and the cultural community in Chile, to open a dialogue around these meetings, rediscover their history and configure new initiatives and links of vital importance to promote the different artistic practices in the country.

What makes a biennial attractive in a global art circuit ? How are the curatorships conceived and displayed? In which ways can we incorporate local knowledge into theirs exhibits and activities? These are some of the questions that, in this first cycle of talks, will be addressed together with the journalist Carolina Delpiano.

Image courtesy of the Chilean Video and Electronic Arts Corporation

Session 1. Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism of Chile.
Thursday, September 10, 7:30 p.m.
Manuel Marchant, former executive secretary of the XXI Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism.
The Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism was created by the Board of Directors of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile [Chilean Association of Architects] in 1977, and has been held continuously since then, generating an important space for meeting, discussion and professional development for national architecture.

Last year, the 21st edition was entitled “Free Architecture Fair. The common and the ordinary”and was going to take place between October and November with a central exhibition in the Slaughterhouse Warehouse of the Franklin Neighborhood. However, due to the social crisis, the curatorial team decided to cancel the activities.

Manuel Marchant is currently its former executive secretary, architect from the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and national director of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Chile. He has been the head of various works and projects in the public sector for entities such as the Undersecretariat of Early Childhood Education, CORFO, the General Treasury of the Republic and the National Museum of Fine Arts, among others.

Session 2. Santiago Medial Arts Biennial.
Thursday, September 24, 6:00 p.m.
Enrique Rivera, director of the Medial Arts Biennial of Santiago.
The Media Arts Biennial of Santiago was founded in 1993 by the Chilean Video and Electronic Arts Corporation (CChV), a meeting dedicated to the intersection between art and science, and a showcase for national and international production in the audiovisual and new media areas.

The last versions of this Biennial have openeda space for thinking and discussion around the relationship between art and self-management (“Autonomía”, [“Autonomy”]11BAM, 2013), the transformation of language in the 21st century (“Hablar en lengua”, [“Speak in tongue(s)”] 12BAM, 2015), socio-natural disasters and their relationship with culture (“Temblor”, [“Tremble/Quake”]13BAM, 2017) and the relationship between humans and ecosystems (“El cuarto mundo” [“The fourth world”], 14 Biennial, 2019).

The curator and independent researcher Enrique Rivera is currently its director. His work has incorporated research and installations in various countries, based on the use of electrical energy and intangible media as a strategy of representation, among others, his research on the www.cybersyn.cl project at the ZKM in Karlsruhe, Germany. He founded and directed the Galería Persona [Persona Gallery in Santiago (2003) and started the video art archive of the Documentation Center of the Centro Cultural Palacio de La Moneda [La Moneda Cultural Center] in 2004. He is president of the Chilean Video and Electronic Arts Corporation.

Session 3. Biennial of Design
Thursday, October 1, 7:30 p.m.
Mario Ubilla and Alejandra Amenábar, co-presidents of the Biennial of Design.
The Biennial of Design is the most important call for contemporary design in Chile, an event born to publicize and promote the most representative, outstanding and innovative proposals of this discipline both in the academic and professional fields. It was created in 1991 by the School of Design of the Universidad Católica de Chile PUC [Catholic University of Chile], but in 1996 was not longer being carried out for almost 15 years. In 2010 the School of Design of the Universidad del Desarrollo UDD [University for Development], in conjunction with PUC decided to resume it.

Alejandra Amenábar, PUC architect and dean of the UDD School of Design,have presided this refoundation of the Design Biennial, with renewed vigor, being able to exhibit today three encounters: “IV Bienal de Diseño: Chile se Diseña” [“IV Biennial of Design: Chile Designs Itself”] (2010), “V Bienal: Pensamiento Global, Creatividad Local” [“V Bienal: Global Thinking, Local Creativity ”](2013) and the “VI Bienal: Diseño en Alerta” “ VI Biennial: Design on Alert ”(2017).

Currently, she is also an advisor to the Design Area of the Ministerio de las Culturas, Artes y Patrimonio [Secretary of Culture, Arts and Heritage], and a permanent member of the Index Award jury.

Likewise, Mario Ubilla, UC architect and UCV designer, is currently the co-president of the
Design Biennial and the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies at Universidad Católica de Chile. He has developed an outstanding teaching career, obtaining in 2007 the award for Best Professor at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urban Studies, awarded by the Federation of Students (FEUC)and Superior Council of PUC and sponsored by CORP-CAPITAL.

Session 4. Biennial panel
Thursday, October 8, 6:00 p.m.
Round table with all the guests of the first cycle of talks.