The British Council is delighted to partner with the Liverpool Biennial for our Biennials Connect programme. We have invited 16 international curators to take part in a week of events, discourse and networking from 1-6 August, coinciding with Liverpool Biennial 2023 ‘uMoya, The Sacred Return of Lost Things’.
The selected delegates will be attending from Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Indonesia, Nepal, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Pakistan, Nigeria, Uganda.
Throughout the week the group will participate in curated tours and public programme events at the Liverpool Biennial 2023, and will visit arts organisations across Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester. The week will culminate with a ‘Sector Day’ bringing together local, national, and international peers where delegates will be invited to discuss and consider ideas and practices of care within a biennial context.
The participating delegates are:
Alia Swastika, Curator and Writer, Jogja Biennale Foundation, Indonesia
Fatima Bintou Rassoul SY, Curator and Cultural Mediator, RAW Material Company, Dakar, Senegal
Greer Valley, Lecturer, Department of Curatorial, Public, and Visual Cultures at the University of the Witwatersrand; Independent Curator. Johannesburg, South Africa
Haikaeli Gilliard, Pharmacist; Artist Manager; Curator, Balcony Series, Tanzania
Mike Tigere Mavura, Curator and Cultural Producer, Stellenbosch Triennial, South Africa
Nneoma Angela Okorie, Independent Curator, Ghana
Oyindamola Fakeye, Creative Director, Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Lagos, Nigeria
Qudsia Rahim, Director, Lahore Biennale Foundation, Pakistan
Robert Njathika, Curator, Nairobi Now, Kenya
Sadia Rahman, Independent Editor and Curator, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sangeeta Thapa, Director, Siddhartha Art Gallery, Kathmandu Triennale, Nepal
Shivangi Bansal, Independent Curator; Founder, Danfe Arts, Nepal
Shuchi Kapoor, Founding Member, Chennai Photo Biennale; Director Programs, Community Engagement, Partnerships, CPB Foundation Chennai
Teesa Bahana, Director, 32° East Ugandan Arts Trust, Uganda
Vishal Kumaraswamy, Artist and Curator, Bangalore, India
Zarmeene Shah, Independent Curator and Writer, Karachi Pakistan
Following the trip to Liverpool, a free digital programme of online talks, facilitated discussions and events will take place from late 2023-throughout 2024 and in the lead up to the 2025 Biennial. This programme will be shaped by the discussions that take place at the Curators’ Week and by the cohorts’ interests, ensuring it becomes and remains a useful and dynamic resource for learning and sharing between curators who take part.
About the Biennials Connect Programme
‘Biennials Connect’ is a distinctive programme developed to enhance collaboration between curators based in the UK, leading international curators working in global biennials and visual arts festivals, and early-and mid-career curators from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The programme brings together leading international peers and early to mid-career curators, to connect, collaborate and build meaningful, cross-cultural partnerships.
