ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

36th Bienal de São Paulo Embraces Estuary as Curatorial Metaphor, Showcasing 120 Artists

festival-fair · 2026-03-31

Running until 11 January 2026 at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion in São Paulo, Brazil, the 36th Bienal de São Paulo is named 'Not All Travellers Walk Roads' and subtitled 'Of Humanity as Practice'. Chief curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, alongside cocurators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, and Keyna Eleison, draws from Conceição Evaristo's 1990 poem and Édouard Glissant's notion of opacity. The exhibition showcases 120 artists and highlights the estuary as a convergence for scattered communities. Notable works include Pol Taburet's 'Someone’s Child' (2025), Antonio Társis's 'Orchestra Catastrophe: Act I' (2025), and Christopher Cozier's 'After the Appeal Will Come the Next Delivery' (2025), focusing on themes of collective joy and resistance.

Key facts

  • The 36th Bienal de São Paulo runs through 11 January 2026 at Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion in São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Chief curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung leads a team including Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, and Keyna Eleison.
  • The exhibition title 'Not All Travellers Walk Roads' is inspired by a 1990 poem by Afro-Brazilian writer Conceição Evaristo.
  • 120 artists are featured, with a curatorial focus on the estuary as a metaphor for convergence and the African diaspora.
  • Antonio Társis's installation 'Orchestra Catastrophe: Act I' (2025) explores mineral extraction in Africa using matchbox panels and coal pendants.
  • Christopher Cozier's 'After the Appeal Will Come the Next Delivery' (2025) uses flags to denounce genocides in Gaza and Sudan.
  • Forensic Architecture/Forensis's video 'The People’s Court I' (2025) documents ecocidal impacts in Nigeria's Niger Delta from oil extraction.
  • The exhibition design includes vibrant curtains in Oscar Niemeyer's pavilion, with critiques of weaker works in the central atrium.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • 36th Bienal de São Paulo
  • Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion
  • ArtReview
  • HKW
  • Forensic Architecture
  • Forensis
  • Chevron
  • Guggenheim
  • Tate
  • Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
  • Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo
  • Casa do Povo
  • Nubuke Foundation
  • Sertão Negro Ateliê e Escola de Artes
  • Contemporary And (C&)
  • Bienal de São Paulo
  • Studioknxx
  • Girjegumpi crew
  • São Paulo Biennial Foundation
  • Galeria Lima
  • Mitre Galeria
  • Almeida & Dale
  • Cerrado Galeria
  • Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA)
  • Santa Marcelina Cultura
  • Cultura Artística
  • Museum of Brazilian Soils
  • Ibirapuera Park
  • Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen - IFA
  • São Paulo Biennial
  • Artribune

Locations

  • São Paulo
  • Brazil
  • Berlin
  • Germany
  • Gaza
  • Sudan
  • Niger Delta
  • Nigeria
  • Ugbo Kingdom
  • Madagascar
  • Salvador
  • Rwanda
  • Congo
  • Zambia
  • China
  • Minas Gerais
  • New York
  • United States
  • London
  • United Kingdom
  • Marrakech
  • Morocco
  • Guadeloupe
  • France
  • Zanzibar
  • Tanzania
  • Tokyo
  • Japan
  • Parque Ibirapuera
  • Portão 3
  • Thames River
  • Amazon River
  • Hudson River
  • Limpopo River
  • Essequibo River
  • Matanzas Bay
  • Wouri River
  • Cameroon
  • South Africa
  • Guyana
  • Cuba
  • Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion
  • Ibirapuera Park
  • Casa do Povo
  • Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo
  • Av. Pedro Álvares Cabral
  • Av. Pedro Álvares Cabral, s/n
  • Yaoundé
  • Nuoro
  • Italy
  • Syracuse
  • Paris
  • Bom Retiro neighborhood

Sources

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