Afterall Hosts Joint Book Launch on Biennials and Cultural Anthropophagy

On October 10, 2022, from 19:00 to 20:30, The Showroom at 63 Penfold Street, London NW8 8PQ, hosted a collaborative book launch with Afterall. The event featured the unveiling of two works: 'Biennials, Triennials, and documenta: The Exhibitions that Created Contemporary Art' by Anthony Gardner and Charles Green (Wiley Blackwell, 2016) and 'Cultural Anthropophagy: The 24th Bienal de São Paulo 1998,' co-edited by Lisette Lagnado and Pablo Lafuente (Afterall Books in collaboration with the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, 2015). A discussion led by Anthony Gardner, Pablo Lafuente, and Yaiza Hernández explored the emergence of large-scale international exhibitions amid neoliberal globalization, referencing the second Bienal de Habana (1986), Whitney Biennial (1993), and Documenta 11 (2002). The 24th Bienal de São Paulo (1998) was analyzed for its focus on 'contamination' and 'cannibalisation,' examining its impact on art's evolving production, curation, and display. An audio recording of the event can be found on The Showroom's website.