Sydney Biennale opens with Isuzu art
Australia’s largest visual arts festival, the Sydney Biennale, opened with a striking installation—a 1964 Isuzu car transformed into art [https://www.theage.com.au/culture/art-and-design/a-clapped-out-car-and-giant-baobab-tree-biennale-of-sydney-lifts-curtain-but-misses-one-thing-20260212-p5o1m7.html]. This highlights the international scope and creative energy of the event. What's the story behind the Isuzu car art piece?
The 2026 Sydney Biennale, officially the 25th, is slated to run from March 14 to June 14. The event will showcase 83 artists, collectives, and collaborations hailing from 37 countries. This year's theme, "Rememory," is inspired by Toni Morrison's novel *Beloved*, exploring the intersection of memory and history. The Biennale seeks to revisit, reconstruct, and reclaim suppressed histories. Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, is the artistic director. She is the first Arab and the eighth woman to curate the Biennale. Key venues include White Bay Power Station, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and Penrith Regional Gallery, with an expanded presence in Western Sydney. The Biennale aims to highlight marginalized narratives and amplify First Nations voices. The event will feature a giant clay oven by Argentinian sculptor Gabriel Chaile, serving Peruvian cuisine. Lebanese artist Mounira Al Solh will present a large vat of tabbouleh as a community-based performance. The Biennale has commissioned 15 First Nations artists from around the world, supported by Fondation Cartier. Bruce Johnson McLean, a Wierdi man of the Birri Gubba Nation, is the Fondation Cartier First Nations Curatorial Fellow. Previous Biennale themes include "The Beauty of Distance" (2010), "Revolutions, Forms That Turn" (2008), and "Zones of Contact" (2006). The inaugural Biennale in 1973 featured 37 artists primarily from Asia and the Pacific.
