The educational nature of the Bienal de São Paulo is one of the characteristics that makes it unique on the international contemporary art circuit. In existence since the second edition of the show in 1953, initiatives to engage with different audiences are part of the Fundação Bienal’s ongoing work, especially with teachers from different fields, students, universities, cultural institutions and social projects, aimed at broadening access to the content and experiences provided by the exhibitions.
Since 1998, the production of educational materials and publications aimed at formal and non-formal education professionals has strengthened this commitment, developing relations between the concepts and audiences of the exhibition.
In 2009, the Fundação began to have a permanent education team, responsible for designing and implementing the educational project for each edition, as well as actions carried out in the periods between exhibitions, such as the Pavilhão aberto [Open Pavilion] program, Bienal na escola [Bienal at School] and mini-courses.
It is currently structured along three axes that underpin all the work fronts and projects, with the aim of increasing the quality of and access to the actions carried out inside and outside the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion in keeping with the educational and cultural nature of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo:
This is dedicated to the relationships developed by and for the show, with the main action being mediation in the exhibition spaces, in the presence of the works, carried out by an extended team of professionals with different repertoires and research. The mediation work is based on the diverse experiences, realities and contexts of the public in order to build critical dialogues with the works, artists and debates proposed by the exhibition.
Covers the actions carried out before, during and after the exhibition, inside and outside the Bienal Pavilion. Based on accessible and plural methodologies, the programs promote meetings in schools, universities, cultural institutions and communities, helping to broaden access and strengthen the Bienal’s role as a space for training, meeting and exchange.
Underpins all the work developed through the production and revision of teaching materials, training courses, publications and mediation strategies. This axis supports the dimension of continuous study processes for the production of a dialogical and pluralistic work.
Below are some of the team’s main work fronts:
A series of actions, methodologically developed through workshops, research laboratories and heritage education based on exchanges at the intersection of contemporary art and education. The program is developed in schools and then these groups are received at the Bienal.
Training and public programming actions in the cities that receive sections of the show. The education team provides training for the teams working on the traveling exhibitions, with online and face-to-face meetings and pedagogical support. In addition to training, actions are carried out with different audiences, such as lectures, workshops with teachers and specific actions aimed at students.
Created in 2019, the program opens the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, a listed public heritage site at the municipal, state and federal levels and home to the Bienal de São Paulo since 1957, for visitors between exhibitions, promoting workshops, heritage visits and lectures. With the space empty, the program values public heritage as a space for experimentation, coexistence and mobilizing critical debates on access to and preservation of historical heritage.
Aims to fulfill its mission of debating contemporary art beyond exhibitions. Among the actions carried out are the mini-course African and Afro-diasporic Modernisms at the Bienal de São Paulo and Crossing Fields: Dialogues between Contemporary Art and Soccer. With research based on the Arquivo Histórico Wanda Svevo, they articulate the history of the Bienal with contemporary themes.
With a variety of formats, based on the concepts of each edition of the Bienal, the educational publication’s main audience is public and private school teachers, as well as cultural and non-formal education professionals. The printed version is distributed to participants in the Bienal’s activities, including mediated visits during the exhibition, traveling exhibitions, schools and libraries across the country. All of the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo’s educational publications are available digitally in the Library section of the website.