BIENNALE GHERDËINA
A biennial project that consists of an exhibition spread over the public spaces of the Val Gardena, in the Dolomites, and fringe events such as symposia, workshop, talks by artists and conferences, plus related publications.
INTRODUCTION
The Biennale Gherdëina was founded by Doris Ghetta in 2008 as a MANIFESTA 7 fringe event. Drawing inspiration from the spirit and intent of MANIFESTA 7 to raise the profile of Alto Adige as a region brimming with contemporary culture, since then the Biennale Gherdëina has proved one of the most successful events of its kind in Europe. Over the years it has grasped and supported MANIFESTA 7’s overall vision.
(Rafal Niemojewski, director of the Biennial Foundation)
The project has grown exponentially, acquiring international resonance and affirming itself as a biennial contemporary art event in the most important public space in Alto Adige.
Through the production, diffusion and communication of works created specifically in relation to the region’s space and culture, the Biennale Gherdëina stimulates reflection and raises public awareness by highlighting the richness of the landscape and the culture of the local area, and its ambition is to become another attraction for the Alto Adige region. It aims to do so partly by collaborating with local cultural associations.
Close cooperation between our region’s artisans, sculptors and professionals and international bodies in the sector offers a unique opportunity for research and development, as well as raising awareness of the area’s boundless treasures. As it approaches its seventh edition, the Biennale Gherdëina is showing how it can also provide an opportunity for social development and education in the name of art through a series of fringe events, such as talks by artists and conferences, plus related publications.
The importance of public art – culture is us.
Public art is a key tool for an evolving culture: it reflects on society, adds meaning to places by highlighting their uniqueness, and has the power to act as an intersection between past, present and future, and between various disciplines and ideas.
The artists of the Biennale Gherdëina not only enjoy the aesthetic quality and benefits of exhibiting in public places. By working directly with local designers, artisans, architects and personalities, they also contribute to the development of the identity of a region that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Each artist inevitably projects their own personality on ideas, sites and social constructions and thus, through art, supports alternative perspectives to reawaken and, at the same time, challenge the community’s assumptions, beliefs and values.
Public art is a reflection of its place and its time. It acts as signpost in all human settlements. Artworks thus become emblems, interweaving with our images of places. Even when they are only temporary, captured in postcards and photograph albums they become memorable moments in time.