LIU Ding and Carol Yinghua LU to curate the 19th Istanbul Biennial

LIU Ding and Carol Yinghua LU have worked collaboratively as a research and curatorial team since 2007. They were the artistic directors for the 8th Yokohama Triennale (2024). They have curated many shows, including: Trans-Southeast Asia Triennial: Sounds as Silence: The Academic Value of Life (2021), Anren Biennale: Crossroads (2017), Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (2012), Little Movements: Self-practice in Contemporary Art I\II\III (2011 in OCAT Shenzhen, China; 2013 in MUSEION, Bolzano, Italy and, 2015 in ACC, Gwangju, Korea), and Liberation (2010). Since 2011, they have curated a series of thematic and solo exhibitions based on their ongoing research on the resonance of socialist realism in the historical formation of contemporary art in China.

Regarding their appointment as curators of the 19th Istanbul Biennial, Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu state: ‘We are honoured to curate the 19th Istanbul Biennial, a platform long recognised for enabling the boldest of curatorial and artistic ambitions. Today, as we navigate a landscape of extreme political volatility and the pervasive influence of algorithmic technologies, art often finds itself in a state of “elsewhere” – obsessed with seeking external horizons to alleviate our deep-seated existential anxieties. The 19th edition calls for a dire shift in focus. We seek to move beyond reactive commentary and technological escapism to recognise and reclaim the primary agency of art and the individual. By confronting ourselves and the realities of our time, this biennial aims to restore the critical rigour and visceral greatness of ideas and art, creating a space to not just reimagine, but to actively build, a more sovereign and resilient future for artistic practice.’

Main Image: Carol Yinghua Lu and Liu Ding. Photo: Courtesy of the IKSV.