IBA International Conference: Shanghai, China, September 3 – 4, 2016

IBA Member Wato Tsereteli speaks at IBA’s 3rd General Assembly. Photo: Jongin Park.

“Biennials in Transformation: Hybridization as New Challenge”
September 3 – 4, 2016
Shanghai, China

The International Biennial Association will hold an International Conference in Shanghai, China from September 3 – 4, 2016. Hosted by Shanghai Project in collaboration with Power Station of Art, the official institution of the Shanghai Biennale, and organized by the IBA Office, the conference will focus on the biennial format and its multi-layer discourse in the 21st century, examining the limits within cultural specializations and seeking to discover whether this affects the biennial format’s ability to be applied beyond cultural fields. It will also consider what the recent multidisciplinary turn in biennials means for the future of the traditional format.

Open to the public, two sessions will address the theme. The first session, “Multidisciplinarity as the New Paradigm”, will consider the application of this new multidisciplinarity paradigm, especially in its recent hybrid iterations, beyond cultural fields and examine how it will affect the future. Session two, “Biennial Format at Stake”, will analyze how the transformation to multidisciplinarity will change the format of biennials.

Working Committee meetings will also take place, and are open to IBA Members only. The IBA Board will also hold its 6th Board Meeting.

To RSVP, please send a brief email to the IBA Office.

For Chinese registration, please click here.

Saturday, September 3

IBA International Conference: Biennials in Transformation: Hybridization as New Challenge
Power Station of Art, 200 Huayuangang Rd, Huangpu, Shanghai, China

10:00 – 13:00  Conference Session 1: Multidisciplinarity as the New Paradigm

Moderator
Bige Orer [Director, Istanbul Biennial]

Keynote
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak [Professor, Columbia University]

Speakers
Clive Adams [Director, Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World]

Sylvie Fortin [Executive and Artistic Director, Montreal Biennale]

Alnoor Mitha [Artistic Director, Asia Triennial Manchester]

Wang Chunchen [Curatorial Research Department Head, CAFA, Beijing]

15:00 – 18:00  Conference Session 2: Biennial Format at Stake

Moderator
Philip Tinari [Director, Ullens center for Contemporary Art, Beijing]

Keynote
Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev [Director, Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art, Turin)

Speakers
Jens Hoffman [Director of Special Exhibitions and Public Programmes, The Jewish Museum]

Tan Boon Hui [Director, Asia Society Museum, NY]

Sarah Wilson [Curator and Professor, Courtauld Institute of Art]

19:00  IBA Members Dinner

Sunday, September 4

Shanghai Project Opening Day
Envision Pavilion and Shanghai Himalayas Museum, 869 Yinghua Rd, Pudong, Shanghai, China

08:00 – 09:30  6th IBA Board Meeting
Shanghai Himalayas Museum Event Space, floor 3M. Coffee and tea provided.

Thematic Round Tables on Shanghai Project: 2116 (Speakers TBC)
Envision Pavilion

10:00 – 11:00  Roundtable 1: Architecture Beyond Building

Moderator
Yongwoo Lee [Executive Director, Shanghai Himalayas Museum]

Speakers
Dai Zhikang [Founder and Chairman, Zendai Group]

Eva Franch i Gilabert [Executive Director and Chief Curator, Storefront for Art and Architecture, NY]

Suo Fujimoto [Architect of Envision Pavilion]

Liu Yi [Artist and Designer, Seed Planet]

11:30 – 12:30  Roundtable 2: Ecology of Technology

Moderator
Hans Ulrich Obrist [Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries]

Speakers
Zhang Lei [Founder and Chairman, Envision Energy]

Kevin Slavin [Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab]

Anna Greenspan [Professor, NYU Shanghai]

13:00 – 14:00  Roundtable 3: In Focus: Root Researchers

Moderators
Shi Hantao [Executive Director, Ray Art Center]

Michelle Yeonho Hyun [Associate Curator, Shanghai Project]

Speakers
Otobong Nkanga and Team [Visual and Performance Artist]

Zhang Haimeng and Team [Managing Partner, McKinsey Shanghai]

Qiu Anxiong [Visual Artist and Professor, East China Normal University]

15:00 – 18:00 Landversation
Conceived by artist Otobong Nkanga. Performed by Adib Dada, Peter Webb and TBA

15:30 – 16:30  Shanghai Project Press Conference
Envision Pavilion

16:00 – 17:30  Working Committee Meetings (simultaneous)
Event Hall, Shanghai Himalayas Museum

18:00 – 19:00  Cocktail Hour
19:00 – 20:30  Shanghai Project Opening Ceremony
21:00 – 23:00  VIP Opening Ceremony Dinner, with IBA Members
Envision Pavilion

23:00                 After Party

Participation Grants

*Update July 22: All Participation Grant applications have been notified of their award status. Please email the IBA Office if you have any questions.