Traditionally presented in odd years, the Mercosul Biennial confirmed that the 11th edition of the event has been rescheduled for 2018. The announcement was made during a press conference that took place in Porto Alegre (RS) on December 15, 2016. The foundation also announced the appointment of Gilberto Schwartsmann as president of the following administration and Alfons Hug as the head curator of the edition titled "The Atlantic Triangle." The delay of the 11th edition is the result of the economic crisis that Brazil is experiencing. The event will be held at some point between April 5 and June 4 of 2018 in the cultural capital of the state. Art critic and curator Alfons Hug, who has participated in the biennials of Venice, São Paulo, Curitiba, Montevideo, Dakar, and the End of the World Biennial (in the south of Argentina), said that the design of the exhibition is based on the cultural influences of three historic pillars in Latin America—Europe, America and Africa. Gilberto Schwartsmann affirmed that the 11th Biennial will be developed with an initial budget of 3 million Brazilian reals (approx. US$ 928,497.00). "It is a modest but realistic budget. In case that we receive confirmation on additional funds during the fundraising drive some components of the Biennial may be expanded and the budget incremented." Another point in this edition will be the deepening of discussions of the 11th Biennial's study program in areas associated with knowledge, such as the creation of a musical or literary program based on the theme "The Atlantic Triangle" and its evolution with respect to contemporary music and literature. Schwartsmann said that "Because one of the central themes of the project is the artistic contributions to contemporary art from the African continent, the theme "contemporary African art" will be discussed at length in seminars, conferences, and debates. Source: Mapa das Artes