The Biennale of Sydney has revealed the final lineup details for its 25th edition, scheduled to open mid-March across five key venues, including White Bay Power Station, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Penrith Regional Gallery.
Featuring 83 artists, collaborations and collectives from 37 countries including Australia, the 25th Biennale of Sydney is titled “Rememory” – after the term coined by author Toni Morrison – and will “[explore] the intersection of memory and history as a means of revisiting, reconstructing, and reclaiming histories”.
It represents the vision of artistic director Hoor Al Qasimi, the first Arab appointed to the role and the eighth woman in the festival’s 53-year history.
Highlights announced on Tuesday include a giant functioning clay oven at White Bay Power Station in Rozelle, created by Argentinian sculptor Gabriel Chaile, which will be activated for the Biennale’s opening weekend and at key moments through the festival to serve visitors Peruvian cuisine. Also for food lovers is a large vat of tabbouleh, created by Lebanese artist Mounira Al Solh as part of a community-based performance in Granville.
The Biennale will also include a rare presentation of the landmark 80-square-metre Ngurrara Canvas II, made by the Ngurrara artists of the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia in support of their 1996 native title claim. The spectacular painting, created by more than 40 artists, toured Australia in the decade after it was created and has been exhibited internationally – but its Biennale presentation, at the Art Gallery of NSW, will be its final outing before returning to the artists’ country permanently.
Previously announced highlights include a multi-channel video featuring the voices and experiences of Indigenous youth living in detention, created by journalist and author Behrouz Boochani (Kurdistan/Iran/Aotearoa New Zealand), Hoda Afshar (Iran/Australia) and Vernon Ah Kee (Kuku Yalandji, Waanji, Yidinji and Gugu Yimithirr, Australia) as part of their Code Black/Riot project.
The Biennale will expand its footprint in Western Sydney this year, including Penrith Regional Gallery for the first time and bringing back Campbelltown Arts Centre. There will also be public programs across inner city and greater Sydney, including Centenary Square in Parramatta, Fairfield City Museum & Gallery and Redfern Town Hall. White Bay Power Station, a popular addition to the Biennale last year, will this year feature large-scale sculptural and installation works by artists including Nikesha Breeze (US) and painter Nancy Yukuwal McDinny (Garrwa/Yanyuwa).
Al Qasimi is a high-profile appointment, named the most influential figure in the art world in ArtReview magazine’s annual power list in 2024. For more than two decades she has led the Sharjah Biennial and in 2009 founded the Sharjah Art Foundation, which has exhibited artists such as Anish Kapoor and Yayoi Kusama. She has curated exhibitions at some of the world’s most prestigious galleries and festivals, including the Serpentine in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and the Venice Biennale.
The Biennale director is also royalty: her father is Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah, one of seven emirates that make up the UAE.
Her appointment has brought controversy, with figures from the Jewish community condemning statements she has made on the war in Gaza and in support of Palestine.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s co-chief executive, Peter Wertheim, told The Australian her appointment was an “example of one of Australia’s flagship cultural institutions being captured by an extremist anti-western political agenda”. In November the Australian Financial Review reported that several donors had withdrawn their support from the Biennale in response to Al Qasimi’s appointment.
In a statement to the Guardian responding to these allegations, a Biennale of Sydney spokesperson said: “Hoor Al Qasimi is one of the most respected curators of her generation and was appointed for her extensive professional expertise and artistic vision. Like any professional, she is her own person and must be judged on her own merits and her work for the Biennale of Sydney.
“The sponsors and donors for each edition of the Biennale of Sydney change, so there is an ebb and flow each time. Each edition of the Biennale attracts funding in response to how donors and sponsors engage with the theme. The Biennale’s largest and most consistent supporter is the Australian government, across all levels.
“Investing in public art is crucial, public funding for the arts is an investment in a healthy democracy. It enables a diversity of global voices and perspectives to be heard, including those that challenge us. The Biennale’s mission is to broaden understanding of the world, and public support ensures we can continue to do so.”
Al Qasimi’s Biennale of Sydney will feature the work of several Palestinian artists and collectives, including collaborators Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Khalil Rabah, and the architecture studio DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture Art Research), led by Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti.
The Guardian requested interviews with Al Qasimi and the Biennale of Sydney’s chief executive, Barbara Moore, before Tuesday’s announcement but neither were available to talk.
The Biennale of Sydney runs from 14 March to 14 June at the Art Gallery of New South Wales; Campbelltown Arts Centre; the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney; Penrith Regional Gallery; White Bay Power Station; and smaller satellite venues in the inner city and across greater Sydney
