IBA 11th General Assembly: Panel 3 Solidarity and the Global Networks: What Role Can Biennials Play in Times of Global Conflict?

IBA 11th General Assembly Public Program

Continuing our series for Mending the Shores: Transforming Biennials for a Sustainable Future, the public conference of the 11th General Assembly of the International Biennial Association, we are pleased to introduce the third and final panel:

Solidarity and the Global Networks: What Role Can Biennials Play in Times of Global Polarisation and Conflict?

This panel focuses on biennials as spaces for artistic freedom and the dangers they face in today’s political landscape. In an era marked by rising censorship worldwide, this discussion will explore how biennials can continue to serve as platforms for critical cultural dialogue. As political actors increasingly attempt to impose control, it is crucial to develop new tools and languages to protect the voices of artists and safeguard their vital role within our societies.

Panelists:

Hoor Al Qasimi
Hoor Al Qasimi is President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, the public art institution she established in 2009 as a catalyst and advocate for the arts in Sharjah, UAE, and around the world. Director of Sharjah Biennial since 2003, she has curated and co-curated major exhibitions for the Foundation and numerous international institutions, including the critically acclaimed Sharjah Biennial 15 (2023), the major touring retrospective Hassan Sharif: I Am The Single Work Artist (2017–2018), and solo exhibitions of artists Simone Fattal, Rasheed Araeen, Yayoi Kusama, Farideh Lashai, Khalil Rabah, Bouchra Khalili, Emily Karaka, Antonio Dias, and William Kentridge. Al Qasimi also serves as President of the International Biennial Association, President of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, Director of the Sharjah Architecture Triennial, and head of Sharjah’s Global Studies University. Al Qasimi curated the 2020 Lahore Biennial and is Artistic Director of the 6th Aichi Triennale (2025) and 25th Biennale of Sydney (2026).

Mouna Mekouar
Mouna Mekouar is a curator and art critic. She held curatorial positions at Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz (2008-2010), and Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2011-2013). She has curated several exhibitions, including at Fondation Beyeler, Centre Pompidou, Musée du Louvre, Musée d’art moderne de Paris, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Picasso-Paris, and Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris. Mekouar has also curated exhibitions at Fondation Pernod Ricard, Punta della Dogana (Venice), Nijo Jo Castle (Kyoto), Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech, Ifa-Gallery (Stuttgart and Berlin), and Palais de Tokyo (Paris). She curated ‘Tino Sehgal à Marrakech’ (2016), a unique project that unfolded on the Jemâa el-Fna square in Marrakech. As an associate curator, she has collaborated on exhibitions such as ‘Formes Simples’ (2015) and ‘Chefs d’œuvres?’ (2011) at Centre Pompidou-Metz and participated in the 11th edition of the Shanghai Biennial in 2016, curated by Raqs Media Collective. She was the 4th Independent Curators International/French Institute Fellow in NYC in 2016 and Residency Fellow at Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart.

Julia Morandeira Arrizabalaga
Julia Morandeira Arrizabalaga is a curator, researcher, and educator. She is Director of the Paris branch of KADIST and a lecturer at Leiden University, where she coordinates the minor “Social and Ecological Justice Activism in the Visual Arts.” Her long-term curatorial investigations include projects such as Canibalia, Be careful with each other, so we can be dangerous together, Social Choreographies, Night Studies, and The Hauntologists. Previous positions include convening the Post-Academic Program and serving on the executive board of BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht; convening escuelita at CA2M-Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Móstoles; curating the Opening section at ARCO Madrid; and mediating public-driven commissions as part of Concomitentes. Her work has been showcased internationally at Hangar (Lisbon), CentroCentro and Matadero (Madrid), Azkuna Zentroa (Bilbao), MACBA (Barcelona), and more. Morandeira has published extensively on critical theory, cultural studies, and educational practices and consulted for various cultural programs.

Thiago de Paula Souza
Thiago de Paula Souza (São Paulo, Brazil, 1985) is a curator and educator. He is interested in stretching and re-elaborating the exhibition format and exploring the intersection of contemporary art and education to create new ethical codes. He is co-curating the 38th Panorama of Brazilian Art at MAM São Paulo (2024) and recently co-curated Some May Work as Symbols: Art Made in Brazil, 1950s–70s, at Raven Row in London. Between 2022 and 2023, he co-curated the Nomadic Program at the Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art (The Netherlands). In 2022, he co-curated While we are embattled (Para Site, Hong Kong) and Acts of revolt (MAM Rio, Brazil). Between 2020 and 2021, he was part of the curatorial team for the 3rd edition of Frestas – Triennial of Arts, São Paulo, and served as curatorial advisor for the 58th Carnegie International (2021/2022, United States). He is currently a member of the Artistic Committee of NESR Art Foundation in Angola and a PhD candidate at HDK Valand – University of Gothenburg (Sweden).

We are sure this panel will give the whole conference the necessary thoughtful and critical conclusion it deserves and inspire all the participants and the audience to reflect on how biennials can ensure that artistic freedom and cultural dialogue remain strong despite the current political situation.

Don’t miss this panel and the continuation of our program, part of the 11th General Assembly, organized in partnership with La Biennale de Lyon.

For more information about the 17th Lyon Biennale, please visit their website: www.labiennaledelyon.com

Find details required to plan your visit, including a list of recommended hotels. You may also find practical information for getting around Lyon here.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@biennialassociation.org. We look forward to meeting you in Lyon!