Portuguese Biennial Anozero Embraces Anarchism as Antidote to Art Fair Fatigue
The Anozero biennial in Coimbra, Portugal, is taking a confrontational approach to challenge the perceived weariness with art biennials. The festival occupies the 17th-century Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, a haunted former convent overlooking the medieval city. US artist Taryn Simon contributes an installation featuring laments sung in Albanian, Chinese, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, and Turkish that echo through the dormitory wing. The event seeks to fill abandoned buildings with new life without clearing a path for property developers, embracing anarchist principles as an antidote to conventional biennial formats.
Key facts
- Anozero biennial takes place in Coimbra, Portugal
- Venue is the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, a 17th-century convent
- Taryn Simon's installation features laments in five languages
- Festival adopts anarchist approach to counter biennial fatigue
- Event aims to revitalize abandoned spaces without gentrification
- Monastery is described as haunted with disembodied voices
- Installation includes dry foliage arranged in geometric shapes
- Festival overlooks medieval Coimbra from across the Mondego river
Entities
Artists
- Taryn Simon
Institutions
- Anozero
Locations
- Coimbra
- Portugal
- Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova
- Mondego river