32nd Bienal de São Paulo: Incerteza Viva

Five months prior to its opening, the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo—Incerteza Viva (Live Uncertainty) announces the complete list of 81 participants, comprised of artists and collectives.

Curated by Jochen Volz along with co-curators Gabi Ngcobo (South Africa), Júlia Rebouças (Brazil), Lars Bang Larsen (Denmark) and Sofía Olascoaga (Mexico), the exhibition will be held from September 10 to December 11, 2016, at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, focusing on notions of "uncertainty" and "entropy" to reflect on the current conditions of life and the possibilities offered by contemporary art to harbor and inhabit uncertainties.

The result of an investigative process initiated in March of 2015, the final list presents a selection of participants from 33 countries characterized by a strong presence of artists born after 1970, women—who represent over half of the invited artists—and commissioned projects, produced for the context of the exhibition. 

According to curator Jochen Volz, the artists in the 32nd Bienal provide strategies and speculations on how to live with uncertainty. "We are seeking to understand diversity, to look at the unknown and question what we assume to be known. We view the different knowledges of our world as complementary rather than exclusionary."

Many of the works currently in development involve artistic residencies in the city of São Paulo and research travels in Brazil. To cite a few examples: Carla Filipe in partnership with the Instituto de Botânica de São Paulo (Botanical Institute of São Paulo) is developing a garden of edible plants, spontaneous plants and endangered plants; Iza Tarasewicz is studying the presence in Brazil of the Polish musical rhythm known as Mazurka; Dalton Paula visited three cities involved in the tobacco economy, and Pilar Quinteros traveled to Serra do Roncador, in Mato Grosso State, to follow the tracks of the explorer Percy Fawcett (1867–1925), who disappeared in the 1920s.

"The proximity of the curators with the Fundação Bienal team, as well as the expansion of the institution's partnerships, make the 32nd Bienal an especially fertile edition," says foundation president Luís Terepins. "So far, we are counting on the commitment of 48 partners, including companies, governmental agencies and cultural institutions." For example, in recent months, partnerships with organizations from Chile, Ghana and Peru helped to enable the realization of the Study Days in Santiago (Chile), Acra (Ghana) and Lamas (Peru), with a strong impact on the development of the curatorial proposal. The fourth event will take place in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, from May 19 to 22. An international seminar concatenating all Study Days will be held in São Paulo at the Fundação Bienal auditorium on June 10 and 11.

Invited partipants 
Alia Farid, Alicia Barney, Ana Mazzei, Anawana Haloba, Antonio Malta Campos, Bárbara Wagner, Bené Fonteles, Carla Filipe, Carlos Motta, Carolina Caycedo, Cecilia Bengolea and Jeremy Deller, Charlotte Johannesson, Cristiano Lenhardt, Dalton Paula, Dineo Seshee Bopape, Donna Kukama, Ebony G. Patterson, Eduardo Navarro, Em’kal Eyongakpa, Erika Verzutti, Felipe Mujica, Francis Alÿs, Frans Krajcberg, Gabriel Abrantes, Gilvan Samico, Grada Kilomba, Güneş Terkol, Heather Phillipson, Helen Sebidi, Henrik Olesen, Hito Steyerl, Iza Tarasewicz, Jonathas de Andrade, Jordan Belson, Jorge Menna Barreto, José Antonio Suárez Londoño, José Bento, Kathy Barry, Katia Sepúlveda, Koo Jeong A, Lais Myrrha, Leon Hirszman, Lourdes Castro, Luiz Roque, Luke Willis Thompson, Lyle Ashton Harris, Maria Thereza Alves, Mariana Castillo Deball, Maryam Jafri, Michael Linares, Michal Helfman, Misheck Masamvu, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Nomeda & Gediminas Urbonas, Oficina de imaginação política, OPAVIVARÁ!, Öyvind Fahlström, Park McArthur, Pia Lindman, Pierre Huyghe, Pilar Quinteros, Pope.L, Priscila Fernandes, Rachel Rose, Rayyane Tabet, Rikke Luther, Rita Ponce de León, Rosa Barba, Ruth Ewan, Sandra Kranich, Sonia Andrade, Susan Jacobs, Till Mycha (Helen Stuhr-Rommereim and Silvia Mollicchi), Tracey Rose, Ursula Biemann and Paulo Tavares, Víctor Grippo, Vídeo nas Aldeias, Vivian Caccuri, Wilma Martins, Wlademir Dias-Pino, Xabier Salaberria

Images for download: press.32bienal.org.br

Press & professional accreditation: credenciamento.32bienal.org.br

Press information:
Gabriela Longman, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo - international communications
T +55 11 5576 7628 / gabriela.longman@bienal.org.br
Juan Sánchez, Rhiannon Pickles PR
T +44 788 223 7732 / juan@picklespr.com