Juliana Engberg addresses Sydney Biennale controversy and curatorial vision for 2014 edition

Juliana Engberg, curator of the 19th Sydney Biennale, responds to controversy surrounding the event's sponsorship by Transfield, a company involved in operating detention centers for asylum seekers. The biennale, titled 'You Imagine What You Desire,' runs from 21 March to 9 June 2014 across multiple Sydney venues including Cockatoo Island, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Carriageworks, Artspace, and Pier 2/3. Engberg notes that many commissioned works already engage with societal transformation, refugee issues, and collective politics, citing projects by Randi & Katrine, Nathan Coley, and Callum Morton. She emphasizes a poetic rather than didactic approach, seeking to spark imagination and desire through elemental metaphors and interactive installations. The curator describes Sydney's 'feral, wild' character as inspiration, with Cockatoo Island featuring kinetic works and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia hosting surrealist and abstract pieces. Performance art, including Eglė Budvytytė's 'Choreography for the Running Male,' will activate urban spaces. Engberg's selection includes Scandinavian artists like Henrik Håkansson, reflecting her interest in collective utopianism and emerging Eastern European perspectives. Illuminated text works by Nathan Coley featuring George Bernard Shaw quotes will mark venue entrances.