BIENNALE 8

GEOCULTURA

The exchange of ideas, values and norms, within a context of a multitude of cultural, geographical and political debates and conflicts, is at the core of the concept of 'geoculture' in the political and social sciences. This is the rationale behind the decision of the 8th edition of Thessaloniki's Biennale of Contemporary Art to turn its attention to the terms 'land' (“geo-”) and 'culture', connecting the cultivation of land with culture, understood as a set of resources, texts and practices which are available to people, helping them better understand and more effectively act in the world. It explores issues of memory, history, and managing both the natural and man-made environment, under the conditions of the climate, economic and refugee crises.

The participating artists focus on histories of places and people; they touch upon issues of identity, ethics, equity and sustainability; they suggest improvised ecological technologies; they explore the potential for collective existence and question the systems by which production, consumption and profitability are organized; they put into practice ideas of resource sharing and equitable living, as well as ways of reassessing the commodification of human and non-human life. Through their works, imagination becomes a crucial factor in facilitating the audience to imagine different versions of the future.

Firmly believing that art broadens our understanding of the world, the 8th Biennale seeks not only to raise environmental awareness, but also to multiply future possibilities, with new claims and visions. The 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art aspires to serve as a means of communication with the world, as an act of justice and freedom, of trust and progressive thinking.

The Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art is financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) is organised by MOMus and implemented by MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art-Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections.

MAIN EXHIBITION

BEING AS COMMUNION

The central exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennial of Contemporary Art aims to think critically about co-existence and collaborative practices as creative tools for handling the multiple crises that we face. Thinking through being as communion, 28 artists via their respective practices touch on various forms of more than human collaborations, with our spectral past and our challenging present, thinking of how we can co-exist with animate life around us, the land that we stand on, the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. Being as Communion will focus on inclusive practices that explore different forms of care, love and mutuality, whilst also proposing generous forms of support systems. Invited artists and artist collectives will explore the human impact on the eco-systems that we share, whilst suggesting forms of more equitable existence, for humanimal survival, probing to what extent we can learn new ways of being with, rather than dominating the world around us.

Ten key sites and museums of the city of Thessaloniki will host the exhibition’s works, in dialogue with the city’s layered history, allowing for a polyphonic reading of the exhibition in ten equal parts.

04.03 –
21.05.2023

MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Museum of Byzantine Culture, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Hamidie – Islahane Cultural Venue, Eptapyrgio, Yeni Jami, Glass Box “Scultures’ Garden” (seefront area), Thessaloniki Concert Hall (building M2)

The central exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennial of Contemporary Art aims to think critically about co-existence and collaborative practices as creative tools for handling the multiple crises that we face. Thinking through being as communion, 28 artists via their respective practices touch on various forms of more than human collaborations, with our spectral past and our challenging present, thinking of how we can co-exist with animate life around us, the land that we stand on, the food that we eat and the air that we breathe. Being as Communion will focus on inclusive practices that explore different forms of care, love and mutuality, whilst also proposing generous forms of support systems. Invited artists and artist collectives will explore the human impact on the eco-systems that we share, whilst suggesting forms of more equitable existence, for humanimal survival, probing to what extent we can learn new ways of being with, rather than dominating the world around us.

Ten key sites and museums of the city of Thessaloniki will host the exhibition’s works, in dialogue with the city’s layered history, allowing for a polyphonic reading of the exhibition in ten equal parts.

04.03 –
21.05.2023

MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Museum of Byzantine Culture, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, Hamidie – Islahane Cultural Venue, Eptapyrgio, Yeni Jami, Glass Box “Scultures’ Garden” (seefront area), Thessaloniki Concert Hall (building M2)

EXHIBITIONS

PROJECTS

10.12.2022
–26.03.2023

Contemporary artworks from the collections of MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (ΕΜΣΤ)

21.12.2022 –
21.05.2023

ΜΟΜus-Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection

10.12.2022 –
23.04.2023

A collective project by Fani Boudouroglou, Rania Emmanouilidou and Evaggelia Psoma

21.12.2022 –
21.05.2023

ΜΟΜus-Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection

10.12.2022
–26.03.2023

Contemporary artworks from the collections of MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (ΕΜΣΤ)

21.12.2022 –
21.05.2023

ΜΟΜus-Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection

10.12.2022 –
23.04.2023

A collective project by Fani Boudouroglou, Rania Emmanouilidou and Evaggelia Psoma

10.12.2022
–26.03.2023

Contemporary artworks from the collections of MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (ΕΜΣΤ)

MOMus

The Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus) was born from the merger of four Thessaloniki-based museums/art venues (the State Museum of Contemporary Art, the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki) and the Athens-based Museum Alex Mylona.

In November 2018, the Museum of Modern Art – Costakis Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art – Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, the Experimental Center for the Arts and the Museum Alex Mylona officially joined forces, creating a single, large, integrated public cultural institution, whose aspiration is to leave its mark on international modern and contemporary art, photography, sculpture and the experimental arts.

Since 2018, the organizer of the Biennale is the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual  Arts of Thessaloniki (MOMus) and the implementing organisation is MOMus-Museum of Contemporary Art- Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections. 

In November 2018, the Museum of Modern Art – Costakis Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Art – Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art and State Museum of Contemporary Art Collections, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, the Experimental Center for the Arts and the Museum Alex Mylona officially joined forces, creating a single, large, integrated public cultural institution, whose aspiration is to leave its mark on international modern and contemporary art, photography, sculpture and the experimental arts.

NEWS

INFORMATION

Saturday, 04 March 2023, 18:00

The screening is taking place in the framework of the “Being as Communion” main exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.

Sunday, 05 March 2023, 12:00

The event is taking place in the frame of the “Being as Communion” main exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art.

Saturday, 04 March 2023, 18:00

The screening is taking place in the framework of the “Being as Communion” main exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.

Sunday, 05 March 2023, 12:00

The event is taking place in the frame of the “Being as Communion” main exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art.

Saturday, 04 March 2023, 18:00

The screening is taking place in the framework of the “Being as Communion” main exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, in collaboration with the 25th Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival.

Sunday, 05 March 2023, 12:00

The event is taking place in the frame of the “Being as Communion” main exhibition of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art.