Afterall's Exhibition Histories Series: From APTART to Chiang Mai

Afterall's research project 'Art and its Worlds: Exhibitions, Institutions and Art Becoming Public' examines how exhibitions evolve into long-term initiatives through recurring events, instituent practices, and institution building. The project covers diverse case studies including APTART (1982–84), a series of self-organised 'anti-shows' in a Moscow apartment and outdoor spaces that clashed with Soviet authorities; the 24th Bienal de São Paulo (1998), which used anthropophagy to reimagine art history from a Brazilian perspective; FESTAC '77 in Lagos, a pan-African festival funded by Nigeria's oil wealth; the Third Havana Biennial (1989), which expanded contemporary art's global reach; Shanghai's 2000 'exhibition frenzy' alongside the third Shanghai Biennale; and the Chiang Mai Social Installation festivals (1992–98), artist-led interventions in everyday city spaces. The project also includes essays such as Lucy Steeds, David Morris, Charles Esche, and Bo Choy's introduction to the twelfth title, and Shumi Bose's 2011 reflection on Ai Weiwei's blog following his arrest.