Rennes Biennale Launches with Focus on Art and Corporate Value Creation

The first edition of the Rennes Biennale, initiated by the agri-food group Norac and curated by Raphaëlle Jeune, takes place from May 16 to July 20, 2008, across multiple venues including the Couvent des Jacobins, the Musée des Beaux-Arts, the École des Beaux-Arts, La Criée, the University of Rennes 2, and three cultural centers. The theme, "the creation of value," directly addresses the relationship between art and corporate sponsorship, tracing its roots to Harald Szeemann's 1969 exhibition "When Attitudes Become Form" at the Kunsthalle Bern, sponsored by Philip Morris Europe. The biennale features both existing works and new productions, some created through "research and creation residencies in companies." Artistic positions are categorized into three types: those who engage with corporate themes (Nadia Lichtig, Martin Le Chevallier, Martin Rivet, Gilles Mahé, Bernard Brunon), those who maintain distance through aesthetic, critical, or allegorical means (Sandy Amerio, Ludovic Burel, Noëlle Pujol, Harun Farocki, Raphaël Grisey, Marie Voignier, Jean-Charles Masséra, Work on Stage, Claire Fontaine, Gianni Motti, Claude Closky), and those who ignore it entirely (Boris Achour).