21st International Art Biennial of Santa Cruz de la Sierra

The call for participation in the 21sth International Art Biennial of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Bolivia, was recently announced. The event is open to Bolivian and international artists of any age who wish to participate individually or as part of a group. The 21st edition of the Biennial in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra will be held from November 14, 2019, to January 30, 2020. Titled "Public. Outside the White Cube," the event will be curated by Kiosko, an alternative and independent contemporary art space operated by artists in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra under the directorship of Raquel Schwartz. A curatorial and spatial proposal centered on public art, it regards the work of art as a monumental sign coherent with the city's own signs and connected to it visually and spatially. It approaches the urban landscape in its entirety, as an immense exhibition room, a backdrop or stage for the display of works of art. The event seeks to encourage reflections on the relationship between art and the city, on the manner in which the unrepresentable and abstract notion of the city is shaped, transformed, materialized, and visualized; understood through other mediums, devices and mechanisms. Through their work and creative actions, the participating artists must establish a dialog with the urban landscape. Their ephemeral or permanent urban proposals must be conceived to be displayed in public spaces within the Casco Viejo (the town's historic center), including what is known as the first ring of the city; in rotundas, squares, small plazas, streets, and alternative spaces like display windows, markets, and public transportation areas, among other places. In addition to being site-specific, the projects are also expected to incorporate urban environments rich in architectural, social, and political significance, in addition to ideas like urban transformation, neglect, and memory, among others. Likewise, the idea of intervening the space should be applied to underscore, influence, and/or modify the current interpretation of those places, through constructive gestures that allow for the interaction, inclusion, connection, and dialog between the community and art, in such manner that they encourage the participation of the public. About the Biennial: The International Biennial of Santa Cruz de la Sierra began in 1977 as part of the local government's cultural policy of promoting and encouraging the local visual arts and artists from that city. The initiative also jumpstarted the art collection of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo and contributed to the city's cultural heritage, eventually gaining international projection. Proposals must be emailed to: bienaldeartescz@gmail.com