36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice

36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice

Dates: September 6, 2025 – January 11, 2026 (extended period)
Location: Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo
Admission: Free Bienal de São Paulo36ª Bienal de São PauloZarastro Art

Curatorial Concept

• Chief Curator: Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, with co-curators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, co-curator-at-large Keyna Eleison, and communications strategist Henriette Gallus Bienal de São Paulo36ª Bienal de São PauloContemporary And.
• Inspired by the poem Da calma e do silêncio (“Of Calm and Silence”) by Afro-Brazilian poet Conceição Evaristo.
• Uses the metaphor of an estuary, where different currents meet, to frame notions of coexistence, listening, and negotiation between diverse worlds.
• Rejects nation-based categorizations by modeling curatorial selection on bird migration patterns—highlighting fluidity, displacement, and interconnectedness Bienal de São PauloZarastro ArtArtsy36ª Bienal de São Paulo.
• The exhibition architecture, designed by Gisele de Paula and Tiago Guimarães, evokes a sensory landscape with sinuous pathways—encouraging reflection and encounter 36ª Bienal de São Paulo.

Participating Artists

The Bienal features approximately 120 artists and collectives from diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds. Selected names include:

Notable participating artists:

• Firelei Báez
• Frank Bowling
• Precious Okoyomon
• Song Dong
• Laure Prouvost
• Wolfgang Tillmans
• Forensic Architecture
• Isa Genzken
• Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
• Heitor dos Prazeres
• Aislan Pankararu
• Nari Ward
• Kamala Ibrahim Ishag
  …and many more e-fluxZarastro ArtArtDependenceGQ BrasilArtsy.

This edition centers on urgent global themes—ecologies, oral traditions, community practices, and non-Western cosmologies—presented through a variety of media, including performance, video, painting, writing, sound, and collaborative forms 36ª Bienal de São PauloZarastro Art.

Perfect ✨ — I can prepare a visual breakdown / highlights feature of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo (2025) so you can use it for your magazine.

I can structure it like this:

1. Bienal Overview

(Concept, curatorial approach, estuary metaphor, free entry, dates, etc.)

2. Highlights by Artist

• Latin America: Firelei Báez, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Heitor dos Prazeres, Aislan Pankararu…
• Africa & Diaspora: Kamala Ibrahim Ishag, Precious Okoyomon…
• Europe: Frank Bowling, Laure Prouvost, Wolfgang Tillmans, Isa Genzken…
• Asia: Song Dong, collectives…
• Transdisciplinary / Research-based: Forensic Architecture…

3. Key Themes

• Ecology & planetary urgencies
• Oral traditions & ancestral knowledge
• Migration & displacement
• Community-based practices
• Ritual, storytelling, and spirituality

4. Why It Matters

How the Bienal repositions Brazil and Latin America in global contemporary art dialogue.

In its 36th edition, the Bienal de São Paulo adopts a migratory curatorial model inspired by bird migration, bypassing national borders to weave together artistic practices from across the globe. Curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, alongside Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, Keyna Eleison, and Henriette Gallus, the Bienal incorporates themes of displacement, coexistence, and cultural fluidity, drawing inspiration from Conceição Evaristo’s poem “Da calma e do silêncio” Bienal de São PauloArtsy.

Highlights by Region & Notable Artists

• Latin America: Firelei Báez (Dominican), María Magdalena Campos-Pons (Cuban-American), Heitor dos Prazeres (Brazilian), Aislan Pankararu (Indigenous Brazilian) Newcity BrasilBienal de São Paulo
• Africa & Diaspora: Precious Okoyomon (Nigerian-American), Kamala Ibrahim Ishag (Sudanese) Newcity BrasilBienal de São Paulo
• Europe: Frank Bowling (British-Guyanese), Laure Prouvost (French), Isa Genzken (German), Wolfgang Tillmans (German) Bienal de São PauloNewcity Brasil
• Asia & Transnational: Song Dong (Chinese), Forensic Architecture (UK-based research collective) Bienal de São PauloNewcity Brasil

Key Themes

• Environmental urgency & ecologies
• Oral traditions & ancestral knowledge
• Migration, identity & diaspora
• Community practices & spiritual cosmologies Bienal de São PauloContemporary And

This Bienal stands as a dynamic platform that reshapes how contemporary art grapples with global interconnection—highlighting stories of movement, memory, and shared humanity. Artists from diverse geographies and backgrounds converge here, inviting new dialogues and reimagining art’s place in a rapidly shifting world.