It has recently been announced that Charles Esche will curate the 31st Bienal de São Paulo in 2014.
The Scottish Charles Esche is director of the Van Abbemuseum, Holland and co-director of Afterall Journal and Books based at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, London. Well-known on the biennale circuit in Asia and the Middle East, Esche curated the 9th Istanbul Biennial (Turkey, 2005), and the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Riwaq Biennial (Palestine, 2009 and 2007), the 5th Ljubljana Triennial (Slovenia, 2010), the 4th Gwangju Biennial (South Korea, 2002), among others.
President of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, Luis Terepins, says: “Central to Charles Esche’s research is a rethinking of the formats of museums, cultural centers, biennials and the role of art in society today. I believe that the Bienal de São Paulo should be a stage for this discussion, a self-discussion, and should take on this challenge. After all, our vocation is to search for new configurations, reflections and propositions. It’s yet another way for the Bienal de São Paulo to advance and, as such, reaffirm itself.”
The process of choosing the next curator began in 2012 when the directory of the Fundação Bienal commenced a dialogue with directors of institutions, intellectuals and personalities from the arts circuit in Brazil and around the world. Esche was one of the five curators who presented proposals for the Biennial and he is known for dealing with political issues in art.
It is expected Esche will begin preparations for the exhibition in May 2013.
