After an inaugural edition crowned with success, the International Biennial of Congo returns in 2021 for a second edition already in full preparation. African and international artists who would like to be part of this adventure are invited to send their complete application before February 28, 2021.
A masterful inaugural edition
A project led by Kin’Art Studio and its founder Vitshois Mwilambwe Bondo, the Biennale Young Congo took place from October 20 to November 21, 2019 in Kinshasa. Transition, the theme of this first edition had presented about forty artists and more than a hundred works on four different sites. Participants were invited to reflect on the general history of the DR Congo from 1885 to the present day and to question its position and its relations with the rest of the planet.
The TEXAF Group, Pro Helvetia’s liaison office in Johannesburg, the COFED (European Union) and the French Institute in Kinshasa were among the many partners who accompanied this edition, which marvelled at the quality of the works presented.
The Young Congo Biennale becomes Congo Biennale in 2021.
For its second edition, a new curatorial approach was adopted with a greater inclusion of other contemporary art media and a stronger representative sample of contemporary art. The theme chosen is “The Breath of the Ancestors”. It invites to celebrate the links between Africa, its diasporas and afrodescendants, their common roots and the diversity of cultural and artistic expressions.
A very rich program
While the Congo International Biennale will be held from September 10 to October 24, 2021, the program around the event starts in May 2021 with a creation and production residency that will last from 1 to 10 weeks at Kin’Art Studios.
In addition to the artist residency program, training workshops are planned on cultural and creative entrepreneurship and on cultural and critical arts journalism. At the end of July, the organizing team also plans to launch public space projects in Kinshasa with the aim of engaging participants to work on the public space of Kinshasa, to rethink the social, common and shared space.
The modalities of artistic participation for Congo Biennale 2021
To submit their application, artists are invited to provide a complete file containing :
- A letter of motivation
- A completed application form (download here)
- A biography of 30 lines maximum in French, English, Portuguese or Spanish
- A detailed curriculum vitae with your name, email, phone, address, etc.
- A recent portrait photo in high resolution
- A scanned copy of the passport valid until at least March 3, 2022.
- A brief text about your work or project, related to the theme of this second edition
- An artist’s portfolio
- Articles or critical texts from curators, journalists or art critics
- Five images of your works to be presented to the selection committee (max 300 dpi per image in JPG format)
- Two to three videos of 1 to 5 minutes for artists working with moving images or other forms of contemporary expression such as performance or installation…
- A text presenting the works and their technical data sheet (references of the works, titles, dimensions, weight, volumes, year of creation, materials, value of the works and insurance value, addresses of the places of origin and delivery of the works)
Applications should be sent by e-mail to: yc.biennale@gmail.com no later than February 28, 2021.
The list of selected artists will be published on March 10, 2021.