In a first for the historic Biennale of Sydney, the currently running arts program will, for now, shut down and move to online. In response to the growing thread of Covid-19, the dynamic city-wide exhibition is working with long-time partner Google to digitise more than 700 artworks by 101 artists and collectives.
In 2020, Biennale of Sydney is titled NIRIN, meaning “edge” in Wiradjuri. For nearly 50 years, the institution has been a leading platform for diverse cultures and perspectives, and now it’s open to a wider audience as it shifts to the Google Arts & Culture platform.
From Tuesday 24th March, all public exhibitions as part of Biennale of Sydney will be shut until further notice. Organisers will continue to adapt and innovate as the world face’s a once-in-a-century crisis, remaining steadfast in their commitment to the artists and communities that make up this worldly program.
Creating a virtual Biennale will bring the exhibition and programs to life through live content, virtual walk-throughs, podcasts, interactive Q&As, curated tours and artist takeovers. The program will importantly remain artist-led and will allow artists to lead the way in responding to the urgent social, political and environmental issues we are facing today.
“We look forward to welcoming you back to the physical exhibition when our Government authorities deem it safe to reopen,” said a press release earlier today. “Until then, we encourage everyone to look after one another during this challenging time, and when you go looking for connections in isolation, engage online”
More information about the 2020 Biennale of Sydney ‘NIRIN’ can be found here. The physical program was scheduled to run until 8th June.
