Bienal de São Paulo and Videobrasil Embrace the Global South

The 35th Bienal de São Paulo, curated by a collective of Manuel Borja-Villel, Grada Kilomba, Diane Lima, and Hélio Menezes, focuses on artists from the Global South, rejecting national pavilions and refusing to list artists' nationalities. This marks the first time Black curators lead the 72-year-old event. The term 'Global South' is historically shifting, originating in the late 1960s as an anticolonial concept, and is now used by curators to challenge Western universalism. The biennial runs from 6 September to 10 December at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion. Concurrently, the 22nd Biennial Sesc Videobrasil, opening 18 October, also uses the Global South as a selection criterion. Curator Raphael Fonseca calls it 'a fictional idea of community' contrasting with the hegemonic North. The 2024 Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa under the title 'Foreigners Everywhere,' will similarly focus on artists moving between Global South and North. A kizomba music festival organized by Kalaf Epalanga and Nástio Mosquito celebrates south-to-south exchange. The Global South's economic dimension is seen in China-Brazil trade deals bypassing the US dollar, as noted by President Lula. The term remains contested but serves as a tool for decolonizing conversations.