"Like some of their older peers in places like Europe and the Americas, Asia's biennial are often far more than art events. Especially when they are publicly funded, they aim variously to promote a host city, spread a country's soft power, assist in urban regeneration, and boost (or test) a local art market."
"City governments that fund biennials hope to boost local economies and draw international visitors, said Rudy Tseng, a Taipei-based collector and patron who regularly attends such shows. 'Once they have started, it's hard to stop,' Tseng said. 'It just keeps rolling and that's probably why there are so many biennials in Asia.'"
Asia currently hosts at least eight biennials simultaneously, with more scheduled across Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan. Unlike Western biennials, Asian biennials have developed distinct trajectories and serve multifaceted purposes beyond art presentation. Publicly funded biennials function as instruments for urban regeneration, soft power projection, economic promotion, and local art market development. Examples include Singapore's Biennale celebrating the nation's 60th independence anniversary and Saudi Arabia's Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale repositioning the country on the global art stage. City governments strategically invest in biennials to attract international visitors and boost local economies, creating self-perpetuating cycles that explain the proliferation of such events across Asia's diverse economic landscapes.
#asian-art-biennials #cultural-soft-power #art-market-development #urban-regeneration #global-art-events
Read at Artnet News
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