The International Biennial Association (IBA) is a nonprofit arts association created as a platform for establishing, researching and exchanging knowledge and information necessary for institutions and professionals who plan and curate periodic art events such as biennials and triennials, as well as artists, researchers and others concerned with contemporary art. IBA is a centre for producing multidisciplinary discourse that embodies the productive and discursive voices of the contemporary art world.
It develops a range of diverse programs to promote rights and mutual understanding between institutions and their individual members who play pivotal roles in research and practice.
IBA is an initiative conceived during the World Biennial Forum No. 1 Shifting Gravity held in Gwangju, South Korea, in October 2012. Over 60 biennial representatives gathered, and IBA was established as one of the outcomes of the discussions. A Preparatory Committee comprised of 21 delegates from various biennials, triennials and art institutions met in Sharjah in March 2013. Representatives from different regions, histories and backgrounds were chosen to voice the diversity of political and social perspectives. Three separate meetings in Venice, Istanbul and Karlsruhe were then organised for the establishment and growth of the association.
Executive Board
PRESIDENT
President and Director, Sharjah Art Foundation
VICE PRESIDENT
Chief Executive Officer, Biennale of Sydney
VICE PRESIDENT
Director, Liverpool Biennial
Board Members
Deputy Executive Director, Organizing Committee for Yokohama Triennale Office
Commissioner and Artistic Director, Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art
Chief Executive Officer, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Director, Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art
Director, Bergen Assembly
Director, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) – Istanbul Biennial
Director, International Affairs at Rencontres de Bamako, Biennale Africaine de la Photographie
Director, Biennial of Graphic Arts Ljubljana
Executive Director, Lahore Biennale Foundation
Head of Curatorial, Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee
Executive Director, Fundación Paiz
History
The International Biennial Association (IBA) is an initiative taken from the World Biennial Forum No.1 (WBF) “Shifting Gravity,” held in Gwangju and Seoul, South Korea, in October 2012.
The WBF was initiated by Marieke van Hal, director of the Biennial Foundation, together with Yongwoo Lee, then President of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, and Elke aus dem Moore, Head of the Visual Art Department at ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen). The Forum gathered over 450 participants from across 150 international art biennials, triennials and art-related institutions. Over 60 biennial representatives attended the “Biennial Representatives Meeting” and as an outcome of the discussions, the International Biennial Association (IBA) was established.
A Preparatory Committee comprised of delegates from 21 various biennales and triennales gathered in Sharjah in March of 2013. Representatives from differing regions, histories and backgrounds were chosen to voice the diversity of political and social perspectives.
Yongwoo Lee, President of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, was elected as interim President of IBA. Marieke van Hal, Director of the Biennial Foundation, and Bige Örer, Director of the Istanbul Biennale, were elected to serve as the two interim Vice Presidents for the first term. The location of the IBA Office was voted to be situated in the country of residence of the President, in Gwangju, South Korea.
Three separate meetings in Venice, Istanbul and Karlsruhe took place since the initial Preparatory Meeting in Sharjah, covering key objectives for the future direction of the association. Four working committees (Research, Constitution, Structure and Membership, Programming, Content and Pedagogy, and Finance) were formulated and workshops were undertaken to develop programs and strategies to achieve the mission of the association, and in preparation for the first General Assembly in July.
In 2017, Yongwoo Lee stepped down from his position as President of IBA. Hoor Al Qasimi, President of Sharjah Art Foundation, was elected as the new and current President at the 4th General Assembly in Yokohama.
The First General Assembly was held in Berlin at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) from July 10 to 13, 2014 during the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. The four-day inaugural ceremony of IBA was open to the public and consisted of lectures and panel discussions. The event brought together professionals to participate in a conversation about how biennials need to respond to social urgencies, local environmental factors and politics in the midst of the challenges they face today. The conference first addressed the question “Why Biennial?” before moving the discussion to the broader “Why Associate?”
The First General Assembly was held in Berlin at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) from July 10 to 13, 2014 during the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art. The four-day inaugural ceremony of IBA was open to the public and consisted of lectures and panel discussions. The event brought together professionals to participate in a conversation about how biennials need to respond to social urgencies, local environmental factors and politics in the midst of the challenges they face today. The conference first addressed the question “Why Biennial?” before moving the discussion to the broader “Why Associate?”
The Third General Assembly was hosted in Milan at La Triennale di Milano from May 30 to June 2, 2016, during XXI Milano Triennale. The four-day event included a public conference with keynote speakers examining culture and migration in union with the event’s theme and title, “Culture Beyond the Wars. The Wars Shall Not Destroy Culture.”
The Fourth General Assembly was hosted in Yokohama at the Yokohama Museum of Art from September 25 to 28, 2017 during the 6th Yokohama Triennale. The four-day event included an international seminar featuring keynote speakers and discussion panellists from around the world to discuss the event’s theme and title, “CONNECTIVITY AS A METHOD? The Future of Contemporary Art and Biennales/Triennales.”
The Fifth General Assembly was hosted in Kochi by the Kochi Biennale Foundation from December 15 to 17, 2018 during Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018. The three-day event carried the theme “Shifting Borders: Biennials in Transforming Landscapes” and included a keynote and the first round of presentations given by members coming from biennials around the world. In addition, the gathering saw the launch edition for PASS: The Journal of the International Biennial Association.
The Sixth General Assembly was hosted in Santiago by the Santiago Media Art Biennial from December 10 – 14, 2019 during the 14th Media Art Biennial. Following the theme, “From Adaptation to Transformation”, the event offered opportunities to define the role of biennials in the 21st century in the form of public conferences and member events.
The Seventh General Assembly, which took place on December 3rd and 4th, 2020, was a collaborative event between IBA and the Perennial Biennial. Working around international circumstances, the event was the first meeting of the IBA membership that took place in a virtual space that welcomed biennial professionals from all over the world to come together to share their experiences and to engage in further discussions. The event also celebrated PASS shifting to an online format.
The Eighth General Assembly in 2021, following the theme of “Working Towards a Sustainable Biennial Model”, took place over Zoom on December 16th and 17th with consideration to the ongoing pandemic affecting members from across the globe with a public program featuring a keynote and panel from PASS and a series of focus groups in which biennial professionals came together to discuss topics of importance impacting the biennial community.
The Ninth General Assembly took place in Prishtina and was hosted by Manifesta during Manifesta 14 from October 18 to 22, 2022. Celebrating our first in-person meeting in two years, members came from all over the world to attend and take part in our first physical session of Focus Groups, which continued conversations surrounding a variety of topics impacting the biennial community from the previous year. The event also included a public program featuring a keynote and panel to engage with the topic of education and biennials.
The Tenth General Assembly, hosted by Fundação Bienal de São Paulo during the opening days of the 35th Bienal de São Paulo from September 2 to 7, 2023, invited members from all over the world with the question, “What Are Our Responsibilities?” In addition to visiting the biennial and connecting with biennial professionals, among the featured events was Focus Groups, which brought together a variety of perspectives to contribute to shaping IBA’s future guidelines for biennials. The visit also included a trip to the office of Videobrasil to allow attendees to meet and support another member biennial based in São Paulo.
The Eleventh General Assembly, organised in partnership with La Biennale de Lyon, took place on October 11 to 14, 2024, during the 17th Lyon Biennale with the theme, “Mending the Shores: Transforming Biennials for a Sustainable Future.” Focusing on the subject of sustainability, discussions regarding this complex and enduring topic were shared both in our Focus Groups and our Public Program, featuring a keynote and panels with participants and attendees from almost 40 different institutions. Most importantly, this gathering saw the adoption of IBA’s Guiding Principles, a historic document shaped by members in support of the biennial network as a whole. In addition to visiting the biennial, those in attendance were given the opportunity to experience a variety of institutions in and around Lyon before visiting Art Basel Paris as part of our optional program.
The Twelfth General Assembly, organised in partnership with Liverpool Biennial and Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Art and Design, took place from July 2 to 4, 2025, during the 13th edition of the Liverpool Biennial. This gathering unfolded under the title, “No Home But In Memory: Survival and Renewal in Biennial Making,” bringing together curators, thinkers, and artists to explore the biennial as a living form of memory work. Central to the shared discussions during the Focus Groups and Public Program were the institutional responsibilities of biennials, preserving shared knowledge, amplifying marginalised voices, and enacting sustainable modes of curating and collaboration. In addition to experiencing the biennial, those in attendance were offered guided tours of local exhibitions and also invited to attend Manchester International Festival 2025.
The Thirteenth General Assembly, developed in collaboration with the Biennale of Sydney, Chau Chak Wing Museum (the University of Sydney), Creative Australia, The Power Institute (the University of Sydney), and Global Studies University, Sharjah, took place from June 9 to 14, 2026, during the closing days of the 25th Biennale of Sydney. Marking the association’s first assembly in the Oceania region, the event was guided by the theme, “REMEMORY: Living Solidarities, Embodied Futures”. The schedule featured a public program of panels and talks alongside closed Focus Groups designed for experience-based exchange regarding the concrete conditions under which biennials operate. Delegates had the opportunity to visit various biennial venues while experiencing parallel local events like VIVID Sydney.
Articles of Incorporation (AOI)
As a member-led association, the Articles of Incorporation (AOI) reflect the will of IBA’s constituency to agree and adhere to a common set of bylaws that define our governance, operations, and membership structure. We collectively choose to respect this framework to enable IBA to be accountable and democratic, as all decisions reflected in the AOI are approved and confirmed by vote by the general membership at past General Assemblies.
Contact
General Email
info@biennialassociation.org
Christian Oxenius, Head of Research and Content Manager
christian@biennialassociation.org
Jennifer Lee, Office Manager
jennifer@biennialassociation.org
Mailing Address
PO Box 20123 Bait Obaid Al Shamsi, Al Shuwaihean, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Colophon
Concept
HOOR AL QASIMI, BIGE ÖRER, GABRIELE HORN, JENNIFER LEE, CHRISTIAN OXENIUS, VIKTORIJA RYBAKOVA
Design
VIKTORIJA RYBAKOVA, studio laumes
Technical Development
duotri.at, Austria
