The Time Project, 2017, installation view, Curitiba Biennial (2017)
It is with great joy that we celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Curitiba Biennial in the 2017 edition under the title “Antipodes – Diverse and Reverse”, conceived by the curator Tício Escobar. Many people worked for this Biennial to happen. I take this moment to thank everyone involved.
I thank the artists from Brazil and countries from five continents that participate in the Biennial with artworks in more than one hundred spaces in the city of Curitiba. I thank the invited curators in addition to those awarded with the Young Curators Award. Educators and partners of the educational project engaged in the challenge of expanding the educational potential of the Biennial, coordinating initiatives for the human and cultural development of students, teachers and visitors.
I give special thanks to all the partners and sponsors, public and private institutions in Brazil and abroad, and especially the team of the Curitiba Biennial, without which the Biennial would not be possible. My thanks to the managers and collaborators of the exhibition spaces, fundamental components in the realization of the Biennial.
In 2017 the People’s Republic of China is honored, an initiative of the Biennial that contributes to cultural cooperation between Brazil and China. I am grateful for the valuable support of the Chinese Embassy, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG), which made possible the participation of Chinese artists in this edition.
I thank the Municipal Mayor of Curitiba Rafael Greca and the councilmen of Curitiba for the legitimate homage to China with the creation of the “China Square”, located in the Civic Center in Curitiba. I emphasize the strategic partnership of the Ministry of Culture through the Federal Law of Incentive to Culture. I also thank the State University of Montana (USA) for the support to the Curitiba Biennial.
Finally, I thank the Biennial audience, who is here for the final result, seeking to understand, looking for something that is beyond. And the fundamental contribution of the press, not only for the registration, but for the wide dissemination of the activities of the Biennial.
I wish it to be an experience of enchantment, examination and, above all, learning. May the Biennial bring a new vision of spaces and reality that we already know so well. May it be an experience for life. Make it be thought-provoking and inspiring. Welcome to the Biennial of Curitiba 2017.
Luiz Ernesto Meyer Pereira: President of the Curitiba Biennial