From August 1 to September 2, 2022, the 22nd Sesc_Videobrasil Biennial holds an open call for artists. This edition will be held in October 2023, in São Paulo, after two years of postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Biennial will receive presentations of works in any format and language, from artists and/or groups born and/or living in countries of the Global South, from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), or residing in them for at least five years. , as well as indigenous artists of any nationality.
About the 22nd Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil
With its characteristic dynamism, the event reaches its 22nd edition in 2023 with the title “Memory is an editing station”, a phrase taken from the poem “Open Letter to John Ashbery”, by Waly Salomão (1943–2003). Curated by Raphael Fonseca, from Brazil, and Renée Akitelek Mboya, from Kenya, the Biennial also marks the 40th anniversary of Videobrasil, initially an event dedicated to video, but which over the decades has expanded to the most varied artistic mediums. In this celebration, “it is necessary, therefore, not only to reflect on time and the multiple conceptions of memory, but also to review the importance of video in these four decades,” the curators write. It is also worth noting that in contemporary times, the possibilities of editing have been transformed, becoming more agile and within reach of many technological devices of daily use.
Far beyond these particular “editing stations”, the XXII Biennial seeks to select works that address collective memories, the dynamics of memory and oblivion that build historical and social narratives, related to peoples, nations and geographic regions. “What are the ethical limits of a cut?” Who has the power to do it? How to forge the memory of what we did not see or feel in our bodies? What are the limits of memory?” question the curators.
Founder and artistic director of Videobrasil, which held its first Festival in 1983, Solange Farkas draws attention to the context in which the open call for artists is held, after more than two years of a pandemic that has left millions dead in all the world. The idea of survival, therefore, emerges as an essential desire, as well as the need to look back at such a recent and already traumatic past. “Surviving in the face of adversity is necessary, and the Biennial values the expression of different voices, ways of negotiating the historical past and ways of reflecting on the creation of images today.”
Awards
Those selected will participate in the exhibition at Sesc 24 de Maio (São Paulo, Brazil) and will compete for the following prizes, to be awarded by the 22nd Biennial:
State of the Art Award: awarded to the work considered by the jury as the most suggestive, powerful and significant of the Biennial.
Sesc Prize for Contemporary Art: awarded to outstanding works at the 22nd Biennial, produced by Brazilian artists and/or collectives which will be included in the Sesc’s Brazilian Art Collection.
OFF Award: offered by the Ostrovsky Family Fund, given to a participating artist, of any nationalitywho presents an original investigation of the moving image.
artistic residency Prizes will also be awarded, which will facilitate periods of residence in collaborating institutions. The prizes include airfare, accommodation and per diem during the residencies, which last for eight weeks.
About the organizers
Videobrasil Cultural Association
Founded by Solange Farkas in 1991, the Associação Cultural Videobrasil is the result of the desire to institutionally house the growing collection of works and publications gathered since the first Videobrasil Festival, held in 1983. Since then, the association has been working systematically to activate its collection, that brings together pieces from the Global South, video art classics and own works and a vast collection of art publications. In addition to the Sesc_Videobrasil Biennial, the Association also carries out important activities of research, dissemination and mapping of its collection: national and international exhibitions; traveling shows; publications; TV shows; documentaries; seminars; workshops and meetings with artists and researchers; and artist-in-residence programs, in connection with a worldwide collaborative network.
Sesc—Commerce Social Service
The Sesc—Social Service of Commerce is a private non-profit institution created in 1946 by entrepreneurs in the fields of commerce and services throughout Brazil. In the state of São Paulo, Sesc has more than 40 centers focused on the areas of culture, education, sports, leisure and health. Sesc São Paulo receives approximately 20 million visits a year. Sesc São Paulo’s work is guided by its educational function and the search for social welfare based on a broad notion of culture. In this sense, unlimited access to the spaces and content offered by the institution points to the democratization of cultural assets as a form of individual autonomy. In the field of visual arts, the main role of the institution is to promote and disseminate contemporary artistic production and the study of the production of previous historical periods, as well as the intersections with other artistic languages, having as its central axis the organization of exhibitions . for all audiences.
Read here the curatorial approach of 22nd Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil.
Access open call for this edition. If you have any questions send us an email: =(c=c.charCodeAt(0)+13)?c:c-26);});return false”>22biennial [at] videobrasil.org.br