The International Biennial Association (IBA) Launches a New Journal

(1) Cover: Shilpa Gupta, WheredoIendandyoubegin, 2012. LED-based light installation, 880 x 68 cm, produced with the support of “Mixed Bathing World,” Beppu, Japan. Installation view GIBCA 2017 WheredoIendandyoubegin – On Secularity. Photo: Hendrik Zeitler. (2) Melanie Smith, Maria Elena (detail of still), 2018. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Julien Devaux. (3) Sonia Boyce, MOVE (detail of still), 2013. Video. Courtesy of the artist. (4) Santiago Mostyn, Citizen (detail of still), 2017. Two-channel HD film, wooden oars, framed archival inkjet print, 312 minutes. Courtesy of the artist and Andréhn/Schiptjenko, Stockholm.

Pass: Journal of International Biennial Association
Official release in Kochi
Launch events in Stockholm, Göteborg, Vienna, Sharjah, Istanbul, Karachi and more

The International Biennial Association (IBA) is pleased to announce the release of the inaugural issue of its journal, entitled Pass. This annual publication aims to bear witness to the critical and experimental role of contemporary art biennials around the world. Pass presents diverse approaches and divergent perspectives on biennials as institutions, curatorial endeavours and public projects. It examines the biennial as an actively evolving form that mobilizes relationships between artists, sites and audience on varied scales and in different contexts. It explores the issues and challenges arising in the perennially shifting field of biennial-making. Pass also aims to serve as a tool for learning, debate and advocacy while shaping the public profile of biennials.

Launched in 2018 as a public program of the International Biennial Association, Pass was originally proposed and confirmed at the IBA’s 3rd General Assembly in Milan, Italy. This new program was conceptualised and produced by Editorial Board of IBA—Anne Barlow, Sylvie Fortin, Bige Orer and Basak Senova—with support from the membership of the association.

The development of this publication reflects the biennial field’s shared and acutely perceived need: a self-determined platform to consciously examine the biennial as an active, critical and evolving form, and a forum to define our own measures of accountability. Biennials often capture the imagination of social scientists and humanities scholars. Their cosmopolitan allure, local embeddedness and public engagement make biennials a darling subject of curatorial studies. As exhibition history takes its place in the art historical canon, biennials, which have long been privileged sites of experimentation, gain pride of place. We laud this attention while recognising that a crucial voice is still missing: the critical assessment of biennial makers. This publication seeks to fill this gap and to become the vehicle for biennial makers to share their knowledge and experience, to present their challenges and to chart ways ahead.

Pass 1 (2018) contributors:
Adelina Cüberyan von Fürstenberg / Basak Senova / Bose Krishnamachari / Claire Tancons / Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro / Gerardo Mosquera / Iara Boubnova / Jens Hoffmann / Jochen Volz / Jonatan Habib Engqvist / Kitty Scott / Natasha Ginwala / Nav Haq / Nevenka Sivavec / Richard Ibghy & Marilou Lemmens / Sylvie Fortin / Xenia Kalpaktsoglou

Editor
Sylvie Fortin

Editorial Committee
Anne Barlow
Basak Senova
Bige Orer

Design
Studio Gusto

ISSN 2617-9970
168 pages, color
Purchase a copy.

Launch program
To celebrate the release of the inaugural issue of Pass, IBA members are hosting launch events in their communities.

Join us:
Monday, December 17, 5–6pm
Official release (in collaboration with the Kochi-Muziris Biennale), Kochi, India
Location: Biennale Pavilion, TM Muhammad Rd, Kunnumupuram, Fort Kochi, Kochi, Kerala 682001

Tuesday, January 4, 6–8pm
Hosted by CRIS (Curatorial Residency in Stockholm), the Nordic Art Association, Stockholm, Sweden
Location: Nordiska Gästateljén, Malongen, Nytorget 15A, Stockholm

Thursday, February 21
Hosted by Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art (GIBCA), Göteborg, Sweden
Details TBD

Friday, March 22, 6–8pm
Hosted by Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien (The University of Applied Arts Vienna), Vienna, Austria
Location: The Angewandte Innovation Laboratory, AIL, Franz-Josefs-Kai 3 1010 Vienna

March 2019
Hosted by Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE
Details TBD

April 2019
Hosted by Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey
Details TBD

October 2019
Hosted by the Karachi Biennale, Karachi, Pakistan
Details TBD

Additional launches will be announced. For up-to-date information: www.biennialassociation.org/journal