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Biennales have become the defining framework where the future of culture is imagined, tested and set into motion.Ìý

The most compelling cultural conversations of our time are increasingly unfolding on the stages of biennales, where the future of cultural influence is forged and tested. These gatherings have become more than exhibitions of art. They are spaces where perspectives converge and cultural questions are confronted in real time. In an era defined by rapid change, they embody a responsiveness that few cultural platforms can achieve. They are no longer side events in the cultural calendar but central forums where nations, cities, and institutions signal their place in the global conversation.

A biennale is, at its core, a large-scale exhibition that takes place every two years. Its defining quality is scale and concentration; for a brief period, entire cities are transformed into cultural stages, convening artists, curators, and audiences in dialogue. This structure allows biennales to capture the urgency of the present while generating encounters that resonate long after the exhibition closes.

The format itself is not new. The Venice Biennale, founded in 1895, set the template for recurring international exhibitions and remains one of the most influential gatherings in the art world. The São Paulo Biennale, launched in 1951, extended this model to the Global South and became a platform for Latin American voices. More recently, biennales in Gwangju, Bukhara, Sharjah and Istanbul have shown how cities outside traditional art capitals can position themselves at the center of cultural dialogue. Venice, with its national pavilions and collateral events, illustrates how the format attracts artists, curators, and private initiatives such as Illy’s commissions or Swatch’s residencies. Biennales have evolved into forums where contemporary issues are debated and reframed for an international audience.

What makes this model distinct is its ability to respond to the world as it changes while creating a sense of focused intensity. Biennales can adapt within months, allowing art to address realities as they unfold and giving audiences the rare chance to witness culture as events take shape. Their temporary nature sharpens engagement, since visitors know the opportunity is limited. For artists and curators, the compressed timeline demands clarity of vision. The result is work that communicates directly and with impact, showing how brevity can heighten rather than diminish meaning.

Biennales thrive on experimentation, commissioning ambitious works and piloting strategies and technologies that others often avoid. Free from the weight of permanent collections or rigid hierarchies, they embrace risks and multidisciplinary approaches, making them vital testing grounds for the cultural sector.

Equally important is the way biennales expand both inclusion and interconnectedness. They create space for artists and perspectives often absent from major institutions, widening participation and recalibrating cultural hierarchies. By amplifying these voices, biennales influence not only who is seen but how culture itself is defined. At the same time, they operate as part of a larger ecosystem. Works, curators and ideas circulate between them, gaining new meanings as they move across geographies. A project may debut in one city and be reinterpreted in another, carrying with it layers of significance shaped by both origin and context. This circulation reinforces the interconnected nature of the format, weaving a cultural fabric that is at once local and global and sustaining dialogue across borders.

Biennales have become central to cultural life today because they are agile, experimental, inclusive and globally interconnected. Their impermanence is precisely what makes them enduringly relevant.

Although biennales may be transient, their impact is resonant. It reflects a cultural order that is dispersed rather than centralized, collaborative rather than insular. It shows us that art now is not only about what is displayed, but about the dialogue it enables and the networks it strengthens. Biennales leave behind lasting frameworks of connection and exchange, making them the frontier of cultural discourse today.

• Faisal Al‑Jedea is a Saudi cultural strategist whose work spans partnerships, art advisory and cultural initiatives across the art world from New York City to the Middle East.

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