The curatorial team of the 2008 Shanghai Biennale have released the theme for this year’s event. Translocalmotion, they’ve called it. What’s all that about then? Well, they all got together and started thinking about people and their conditions in the dynamic urban space. They propose that this year’s Biennale reflects upon the socio-economic and cultural implications of urbanization on both the local and global levels, including the issues of migration and identity. With their collective curatorial awesomeness, they will be investigating the spatial and social boundaries between the rural and urban populations, migrants and citizens, guests and hosts.
Major cities in China such as Shanghai are obviously experiencing incredible growth rates, so I applaud the curators for choosing such a dynamic and powerful theme. Art is perhaps one of the best ways to influence the urban development agenda…
Oh, sigh. Who wants to buy me a plane ticket to Shanghai this September?
