The 36th Bienal de São Paulo comes to a close with an edition marked by the expansion of formats, territories and modes of encounter

Conceived by chief curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, in partnership with co-curators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz and Thiago de Paula Souza, with Keyna Eleison as co-curator at large, Henriette Gallus as strategy and communications advisor, and deputy co-curators André Pitol and Leonardo Matsuhei, the 36th Bienal de São Paulo – Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice is inspired by the poem “Da calma e do silêncio” (Of Calm and Silence) by writer Conceição Evaristo and comes to a close this Sunday, January 11.

“The 36th Bienal de São Paulo was an offering and exercise in generosity, gratitude and collective practice. Rather than asserting a single narrative, we sought to create conditions in which multiple voices, temporalities and experiences could coexist without hierarchies. The Invocations, the Tributaries, the Conjugations and other public programmes demonstrate that the exhibition does not take place solely within the exhibition space, but within the relationships forged between people, places and forms of knowledge. But above all we dared to do an exhibition that centers love and humanity in a time of extreme dehumanization,” reflects Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, chief curator of this edition.

The commitment to democratic access to art guided much of the institutional decision-making of this edition, from the conception of the exhibition to its public and educational programmes. For Andrea Pinheiro, president of Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, this work reinforces the institution’s historic role. “The 36th Bienal de São Paulo was conceived to welcome different audiences, rhythms and ways of engaging with the exhibition, consolidating our commitment to democratic access to art. Being a free-admission Bienal and one of the largest in the world means opening the possibility for people from different backgrounds to move through this space, build relationships with contemporary art and recognise themselves within it,” she states.

In total, the edition brought together 120 artistic participants at the Bienal Pavilion and five participations at Casa do Povo, as part of a programme curated by Benjamin Seroussi and Daniel Blanga-Gubbay.

Invocations

Even before the exhibition opened, the Bienal began to take shape through the Invocations, curatorial encounters held in Marrakech, Guadeloupe, Zanzibar and Tokyo. These gatherings brought together artists, thinkers and cultural agents, deepening investigations into humanity, language, spirituality, memory and territory. The Invocations gave rise to the four volumes of the educational publication, which came to guide the pedagogical project of this edition. Watch videos of the activities at Fundação Bienal’s YouTube channel.

Public programme 

Over the four months of the exhibition, from September 6, 2025, to January 11, 2026, the 36th Bienal de São Paulo presented a wide range of activities, including performances, talks, readings, film screenings, educational encounters, concerts and interdisciplinary actions. These activities transformed the Bienal Pavilion into a space of permanence and coexistence, encouraging extended visits and multiple forms of public participation over time.

With the opening of the exhibition, the Conjugations programme also began, a series of debates, encounters, performances and activations carried out throughout the four months of the exhibition, in collaboration with cultural institutions from different parts of the world. The programme explored how these 15 organisations, located across the globe, articulate the notion of humanity through their everyday practices. Each invited institution held an encounter in São Paulo, bringing together artists, thinkers and diverse audiences, activating global connections within the local context of the Bienal Pavilion and expanding the understanding of the exhibition as a space for listening, exchange and international articulation. Watch videos of the activities at Fundação Bienal’s YouTube channel.

Among the highlights of the public programme was the Festival Bienal no Mangue, held at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion as a gathering that brought the cultural, political and sonic force of the manguebeat movement to the Bienal, with concerts by BUHR, Maciel Salú and Mundo Livre S/A, and DJ sets by Paulete Lindacelva. The festival directly dialogued with the curatorial concept of the 36th Bienal by affirming connections forged through territory, displacement and collective invention.

Another landmark moment was the presentation of the concert Philosophies of Being, Perception and the Expressivity of Being, created by philosopher, artist and composer Tanka Fonta, performed by the Theatro São Pedro Orchestra under the direction of conductor Carlos Moreno. The performance expanded the sonic dimension of Fonta’s homonymous work, transforming the installation into a historic orchestral experience.

The programme also expanded through the Tributaries, developed in partnership with cultural institutions in Brazil and abroad. At Casa do Povo, the Bienal presented performances and actions by Alexandre Paulikevitch, Boxe Autônomo, Dorothée Munyaneza, Marcelo Evelin and MEXA, as well as photographs by Akinbode Akinbiyi. The activities carried out at this partner institution exemplify this expansion, hosting initiatives that dialogued directly with the curatorial themes of the edition and extended the Bienial’s presence beyond its physical boundaries.

Within the framework of the Saison France–Brésil, the 36th Bienal de São Paulo presented the programme Stream of Images / Imaginaries as part of the Tributaries—an initiative that expanded the reach of the exhibition through institutional partnerships. Developed in collaboration with Cinémathèque Afrique, the programme drew on historical ties between Brazil, the French Caribbean and countries in West Africa to foster dialogues between contemporary works from the African continent, historical films from the archive and productions by artists from Brazil and the Caribbean.

Organised into curatorial blocks, the programme combined screenings, conversations and performances, exploring the circulation of images and imaginaries in resonance with the central themes of the 36th Bienal. The four thematic programmes were presented alternately on Sundays in the Pavilion auditorium. The film programme was also screened at La Friche la Belle de Mai, in Marseille.

Publications

The editorial project played a central role in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo and gained an unprecedented dimension in this edition, with twelve publications. For the first time, Fundação Bienal de São Paulo carried out the international distribution of its educational publications, in partnership with the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA), expanding the reach of the Bienial’s pedagogical project to a global audience.

The series, composed of four volumes with a global print run of 14,400 copies, corresponds to each of the Invocations held in the months preceding the exhibition, Marrakech, Guadeloupe, Zanzibar and Tokyo, and reflects on the local contexts and specificities of each of these territories. Complementing the series are the exhibition catalog, with a print run of 6,500 copies, and a reader bringing together essays and poetry that articulate the conceptual foundations of the edition, with 4,000 copies. All publications are available in Portuguese and English for free reading and download on the exhibition website and the institution’s portal, as well as publications from previous editions.