Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung's São Paulo Biennial Receives Mixed Critical Reception

Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung curated the 2024 Bienal de São Paulo, titled 'Not All Travellers Walk Roads' after a poem by Afro-Brazilian writer Conceição Evaristo. Critical responses varied significantly across publications. ARTE!Brasileiros criticized Ndikung's choice to leave individual artists largely unidentified in the exhibition. The Guardian found the audiovisual-heavy presentation repetitive, describing it as a 'simulacra of spiritual experiences.' ArtReview offered a more positive assessment, praising the 'rigorous research' and 'deep Afrodiasporic erudition.' A critic for e-flux noted the absence of Palestinian recognition in the show, a decision possibly influenced by Ndikung's position as director of Berlin's Haus der Kulturen der Welt and a desire to avoid inflaming cultural debates in Germany. In Berlin, Ndikung has not avoided political themes, recently opening a group exhibition titled 'Global Fascisms' featuring artists Nguyễn Tân Hoàng, Gülsün Karamustafa, and Robin Rhode, though it reportedly side-stepped the Middle East. His curatorial program at HKW continues to promote an international perspective, including solo shows for artists Sandra Vásquez de la Horra and Cyprien Gaillard.