24th Bienal de Arte Paiz: The World Tree opened to the public!

Diego Cibelli, Objects of Emotional Memory (Objetos de Memoria Emocional). Photo Sergio Muñoz, Courtesy Fundación Paiz

24th Bienal de Arte Paiz: The World Tree

6 November 2025 – 6 February 2026
Guatemala City & Antigua Guatemala
Curator: Eugenio Viola
www.bienaldeartepaiz.org

The 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz, titled The World Tree (El Árbol del Mundo), opened on 6 November 2025, marking a transformative moment for Guatemala’s leading platform for contemporary art. Increasingly recognised nationally and internationally as La Bienal de Guatemala, the event has become a key cultural event for the country. Curated by Eugenio Viola, Artistic Director of the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (MAMBO), this edition is by far the largest and richest edition in ambition and international participation. For the first time in its history, the Bienal welcomes artists from all five continents, with works presented across multiple historic venues, public sites, and through a program lasting three months, it is also the longest edition to date.

“The Biennial is not just another edition, it represents a new cycle in the institutional evolution of Fundación Paiz. We are undergoing a profound transformation that strengthens our capacities, expands our reach, and embraces a more innovative, inclusive, and globally connected vision. We are committed to generating real impact through art, promoting critical thought, empathy, and collective action within the territories we inhabit.”

Sonia Hurtarte, Executive Director, Fundación Paiz

Founded in 1978, the Bienal de Arte Paiz stands as the sixth oldest biennial in the world and the second oldest in Latin America. Over four decades, it has grown into a major cultural force in Mesoamerica—today widely understood as Guatemala’s national biennial, both through its deep roots in local communities and its international reach.

This edition brings contemporary art into dialogue with Mayan archaeological artifacts and works from the Paiz Collection, foregrounding the continuity between ancestral cosmologies and present-day artistic research. A dynamic program developed with Ruta Maya, the Anthropology Congress, and the Gastronomic Route further connects the Bienal with broader cultural, scholarly, and civic spheres.

Drawing from the universal symbolism of the Tree of Life—and its central role in Maya cosmogony—The World Tree explores the interconnectedness of all forms of existence, from the ancestral to the contemporary.

“The World Tree is the guiding theme of the twenty-fourth edition of the Bienal de Arte Paiz. It is a metaphor for humanity and, at the same time, an urgent call to rethink our relationship with nature and our own nature as living beings in constant interdependence with other living beings.”

Maria Regina Paiz, President, Fundación Paiz

“Similar to the synaptic cartography of the ‘dendritic tree’ in neuroscience… The World Tree opens up a constellation of voices, reimagined as a synaptic map… connecting different realms of existence, and various times and experiences—the horizontal and the vertical, the ancestral and the present, the collective and the individual, the ephemeral and the utopian…”

Eugenio Viola, General Curator, 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz

In a time shaped by global contradictions, connectivity coexisting with polarisation, the Bienal proposes a counter-cartography rooted in resilience, multiplicity, and regeneration.

Across eleven historic sites in Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala, the edition features:

• 30 new site-specific productions, created in direct response to the venues’ architectural and historical contexts

• Pre-Hispanic Maya artifacts (Early–Late Classic periods), presented in partnership with the Ruta Maya Foundation

• Works from the Fundación Paiz Collection, linking the Bienal’s contemporary vision with its foundational legacy

A bilingual catalogue published by Temblores Publicaciones accompanies the exhibition.

Participating Artists

New productions marked with an asterisk.

Maria José Arjona* / Kader Attia / Sonia Barrett / Patricia Belli* / Erick Boror* / Seba Calfuqueo* / Jeff Cán* / Tania Candiani* / Ali Cherri / Diego Cibelli* / Maria Adela Díaz* / Adji Dieye* / Elyla* / Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa / Regina José Galindo* / Ana Gallardo in collaboration with María Us* / Ximena Garrido-Lecca / Igor Grubić* / Dor Guez* / D Harding* / Voluspa Jarpa* / Alevtina Kakhidze / Kimsooja / Kite* / Glenda León / Jorge De León* / Luz Lizarazo* / Carlos Martiel* / Oscar Murillo / Plano Negativo* / Maria Nepomuceno* / Tuan Andrew Nguyen / Chelsea Odufu* / ORLAN / Antonio Pichillá / Verónica Riedel* / Christian Salablanca* / Jaanus Samma / Mithu Sen* / Hiraki Sawa / Balam Soto* / Jennifer Tee* / Gian Maria Tosatti* / Simón Vega* / Martín Wannam / Zhang Xu Zhan.

Keep following the site of www.bienaldeartepaiz.org and their social media channels for updates and news on their program!