Biennales have emerged as powerful platforms around the world to broaden the public consciousness for contemporary art and contribute to the global profile and success of a city. International curators in a panel moderated by Alexie Glass-Kantor, Director of Artspace and curator for Australia’s 41st representation at the 59th Venice Biennale, consider the role of the biennale globally.
This talk will take place in the CONVERSATIONS space at Melbourne Art Fair.
Moderator: Alexie Glass-Kantor, Director Artspace
Speakers: Megan Tamati-Quennell, Curator of modern and contemporary Māori and Indigenous art, Te Papa, New Zealand, Co-Curator Sharjah Biennial 16; Cosmin Costinas, Senior Curator of Exhibition Practices at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, HKW, Berlin and co-Artistic Director of the 24th Biennale of Sydney; Elias Redstone, Founder / Artistic Director, PHOTO Australia
Alexie Glass-Kantor, Director Artspace
Alexie Glass-Kantor is a curator and the Executive Director of Artspace, Gadigal Country / Sydney, where she leads an international program supporting ambitious co-commissioning, exhibitions, publishing, program of rent-free residencies, and has overseen the transformation of The Gunnery. She was the curator for artist Marco Fusinato for the Australian Pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia (2022), and since 2015 has been the curator for Encounters which is the large-scale installation sector for Art Basel Hong Kong. Curating in independent spaces, museums, biennials, and festivals, over twenty years Glass-Kantor has developed ambitious curatorial projects across Australia and internationally, including co-curator of Parallel Collisions the 12th Adelaide Biennial of Contemporary Art and the Australian curator for the 13th SITE Santa Fe Biennial, New Mexico. She is Chair of the Contemporary Art Organisations of Australia and serves on a number of international boards and juries.
Megan Tamati-Quennell, Curator of modern and contemporary Māori and Indigenous art, Te Papa, New Zealand, Co-Curator Sharjah Biennial 16
Megan Tamati-Quennell is a writer and curator of modern and contemporary Māori and Indigenous art. During her 33-year curatorial practice, she has held positions at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Govett Brewster Art Gallery. Although Tamati-Quennell’s extensive exhibition history is anchored strongly in New Zealand, her expertise spans transnational contemporary First Nations art. She has worked on many international projects, including in Australia, Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, South Africa and the United States. Her research interests include contemporary Māori art; Māori modernism; Māori women artists, 1930 to today; international First Nations art; First Nations and non-western art in transnational contexts; and First Nations art curatorial praxis. She is of Te Ātiawa, Ngāi Tahu and Kāti Māmoe Māori descent.
Cosmin Costinas, Senior Curator of Exhibition Practices at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, HKW, Berlin and co-Artistic Director of the 24th Biennale of Sydney
Cosmin Costinas (b. 1982, Romania) is the Senior Curator of Exhibition Practices at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, HKW, Berlin (since 2022) and co-Artistic Director of the 24th Biennale of Sydney (2024). He was the Executive Director/Curator of Para Site, Hong Kong (2011–22); Artistic Director of Kathmandu Triennale 2077 (2022); co-curator of the Romanian Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale (2022); Curatorial Adviser of the Aichi Triennale (2022); Curator of Dakar Biennale 2018 – La Biennale de l’Art africain contemporain-DAK’ART (2018); Guest Curator at the Dhaka Art Summit (2018); Co-curator of the 10th Shanghai Biennale (2014); Curator of BAK – basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht (2008–11); Co-curator of the 1st Ural Industrial Biennial, Ekaterinburg (2010); and Editor of documenta 12 magazines, Vienna/Kassel (2005–7), among others. He has edited and contributed his writing to numerous books, magazines, and exhibition catalogues and has taught and lectured at different universities, art academies, and institutions across the world.
Elias Redstone, Founder / Artistic Director, PHOTO Australia
Elias Redstone is the Founder and Artistic Director of PHOTO Australia / PHOTO International Festival of Photography, Melbourne. PHOTO 2021 and PHOTO 2022 collectively featured over 250 artists including Cindy Sherman, Zanele Muholi, Paul Mpagi Sepuya and Brook Andrew and were seen by over 250,000 people. The next edition PHOTO 2024 will take place 1-24 March 2024. Previously he has curated exhibitions for museums and galleries internationally including Barbican Art Gallery, London; Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York; and Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne. He is Wallpaper’s Australia editor and his book Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography is published by Phaidon.
To attend this talk, purchase a ticket to Melbourne Art Fair here.