Art biennials

Terese, aula 2

Book presentation of The Routledge Companion to Art Biennials (Taylor & Francis, 2026) as part of the courses Laboratorio Arti Visive 3 and Teoria e critica arte contemporanea, Corso di laurea magistrale in arti visive e moda

Speakers: Panos Kompatsiaris (editor), Matteo Bertelè, Riccardo Legena, Clarissa Ricci.

Event coordinated by Clarissa Ricci and Angela Vettese

The Routledge Companion to Art Biennials assembles forty‑six chapters that explore art biennials as expanded sites of artistic display, cultural policy, economic value, soft power, urban development and political struggle. The volume traces biennials from their 19th‑century origins to their explosive post‑Cold War growth, critically engaging with debates on globalization, institutional critique, identity, inclusion and resistance.Structured in eight parts, it maps biennial histories from Venice to São Paulo and beyond, alongside their geopolitical and institutional entanglements. Bringing together contributors from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, the volume offers a comprehensive account of art biennials in their complexity and ambiguity, while outlining the main orientations and state of research in the field of biennial studies, making it essential for examining contemporary art and visual culture’s institutional ecosystems.