SAO PAULO 36th BIENNIAL, « NOT ALL TRAVELERS WALK ROADS – OF HUMANITY AS PRACTICE »
36th Bienal de São Paulo – Nem todo viandante anda estradas – Da humanidade como prática [Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice] – Curator: Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung – Sept 6, 2025 – Jan 11, 2026 – Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion
La 36e Biennale de São Paulo, intitulée « Tous les voyageurs ne marchent pas sur les routes – De l’humanité comme pratique », est coordonnée par le chief curator, le professeur Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, accompagné de son équipe composée des co-commissaires Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz et Thiago de Paula Souza, ainsi que de la co-commissaire générale Keyna Eleison et de la conseillère en stratégie et communication Henriette Gallus. L’exposition s’inspire du poème énigmatique « Da calma e do silêncio » [Du calme et du silence] de la poétesse afro-brésilienne Conceição Evaristo.
L’exposition s’accompagne également d’un changement historique dans l’organisation de l’événement, qui se tient traditionnellement de septembre à décembre. La 36e Biennale sera prolongée de quatre semaines supplémentaires et sera présentée gratuitement au public du 6 septembre 2025 au 11 janvier 2026. La présidente Andrea Pinheiro et son conseil d’administration ont décidé d’élargir la portée de l’exposition, permettant à un plus grand nombre de visiteurs d’en profiter pendant les vacances scolaires.
La proposition centrale de cette Biennale est de repenser l’humanité comme un verbe, une pratique vivante, dans un monde qui exige de réimaginer les relations, les asymétries et l’écoute comme fondements de la coexistence, à travers trois axes curatorials. La métaphore de l’estuaire – un lieu où différents courants d’eau se rencontrent et créent un espace de coexistence – guide le projet curatorial, inspiré des philosophies, des paysages et des mythologies brésiliennes. Ce concept reflète la multiplicité des rencontres qui ont marqué l’histoire du Brésil et propose que l’humanité se rassemble et se transforme à travers une écoute attentive et une négociation entre différents êtres et mondes.
The 36th Bienal de São Paulo, titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice, will be led by chief curator Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung together with his conceptual team of co-curators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz and Thiago de Paula Souza, as well as co-curator at large Keyna Eleison and strategy and communication advisor Henriette Gallus. The exhibition takes its cue from Afrobrazilian poet Conceição Evaristo’s enigmatic poem Da calma e do silêncio [Of calm and silence].
The exhibition is also accompanied by a historic change in the organization of the event, which is traditionally held from September to December. The 36th Bienal will be extended by an additional four weeks, being presented free of charge to the public from September 6, 2025, to January 11, 2026. The decision was made by President Andrea Pinheiro and her Board of Directors to further expand the reach of the exhibition, allowing a larger number of visitors to enjoy it during the school holiday period.
The central proposal of this Bienal is to rethink humanity as a verb, a living practice, in a world that requires reimagining relationships, asymmetries and listening as the basis for coexistence, based on three curatorial fragments/axes. The metaphor of the estuary – a place where different water currents meet and create a space for coexistence – guides the curatorial project, inspired by Brazilian philosophies, landscapes and mythologies. This concept reflects the multiplicity of encounters that have marked Brazil’s history and proposes that humanity comes together and transforms itself through an attentive ear and negotiation between different beings and worlds.
Images: 1- Adama Delphine Fawundu An Offering at Kongo River, 2025. Photo: Adama Delphine Fawundu / 2- Adama Delphine Fawundu for ‘Apparitions’, Bienal de São Paulo and WAVA / 3- Record of a presentation of Noh by Shiori Watanabe during the fourth Invocation of the 36th São Paulo Biennial at the Sogetsu Kaikan, in Tokyo, Japan. © São Paulo Biennial Foundation / 4- Record of Hadra, final performance with Lalla Khala and the Gifted Mothers of Dar Bellarj during the first Invocation of the 36th São Paulo Biennial at the Fondation Dar Bellarj, in Marrakech, Morocco. November 15, 2024 © Youssef Boumbarek / São Paulo Biennial Foundation / 5- Andrew Roberts for ‘Apparitions’, Bienal de São Paulo and WAVA /
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