There is an urgent need to save humanity for the imminent future. In some ways, we can foresee tomorrow, but we get lost in the mundanity of today. This year’s São Paulo Biennale, under the curatorial vision of Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, exalts humanity an action . Co-curated by Alya Sebti (b. Morocco), Anna Roberta Goetz (b. Switzerland), and Thiago de Paula Souza (b. Brazil) , under the theme Not All Travelers Walk Roads — Humanity as a Practice, this expansive exhibition emphasizes active listening. It calls for silencing dominant institutional languages that complicate human interactions and for focusing on what is subtle. In this space, the global veil falls away, transforming it into a commune of people and cultures. As a result, the Biennale opens itself to be held by others.
“This edition of the Bienal de Sao Paulo is structured as a research project that will manifest itself in three fragments/axes. The first curatorial fragment/axis advocates for claiming space and time. It seeks to slow down and pay attention to details and other beings that constitute our surroundings” from curatorial statment.
The Biennale unfolds into six focus areas: Cadences of Transformation, Spatial Rhythms and Narration, Grammars of Defiance, Frequencies of Landings and Buildings, Currents of Nurturing and Plural Cosmologies, and The Intractable Beauty of the World.
The public program began in November 2024 with Invocations, convened in four locations: Marrakesh, Guadeloupe, Zanzibar, and Tokyo. Each stop brought together artists, poets, musicians, and activists in performances, debates, rituals, and presentations. During this time, they discussed and enacted the vast spectrum of humanity. They did this by focusing on the themes of belonging, memory, togetherness, emancipation, interdependence, care, technology, and transitions. These experiences served as an “initial ritual” that now flows into the exhibition in São Paulo. It carries stories and languages, tastes and sounds, aesthetics and rhythms that have crossed oceans and borders.
The Biennale emphasizes one major thing; art and humanity at large should bring attention to all forms of life. By exalting human life in true worship, individuals can hold space for poetry and beauty to emerge. Bringing together artists from all parts of Africa, Asia, South America, and its diasporas, the Biennale transforms into a conjugation of cultures.
Inspired by the poem “Da calma e do silêncio” [Of Calm and Silence] by Conceição Evaristo, this year’s edition promotes active listening, encounters, and negotiations. Moreover, it places respect at the core of humanity as a practice. In doing so, audiences move away from a self-centered view of humanity toward a more enduring practice that preserves both the self and the larger cosmos. The São Paulo curatorial team, led by Bonaventure, highlights the true meaning and importance of art as a discipline. It encourages reflection and preservation while also creating space for cultural conjugation.
Among the highlights from Africa include : Simnikiwe Buhlungu (1995, Johannesburg/Amsterdam), Precious Okoyomon (1993, London/ New York), Pélagie Gbaguidi (1965, Dakar/Brussels), Otobong Nkanga (1974, Kano/ Antwerp), Nzante Spee (1953, Mbem – 2005, Stockton), and Akinbode Akinbiyi (1946, Oxford/ Berlin) etc.
Click here to see the list of artists.
All publications corresponding with the program are available for viewing and downloading here.
You can check out the full program, including a proposed traveling exhibition coming soon to a city near you, powered by WAVA app here.
Click here to check out new programs and the full curatorial statement here.
