Sydney's art lovers, rejoice! A resurgent Biennale of Sydney has announced its first wave of online programming to brighten these days of unending indoors.
One of Australia's biggest visual arts festivals, this year's Biennale opened just days before visitor attractions, including galleries, were advised to close. However, while new artistic director Brook Andrew’s inaugural program – First Nations-focused and dubbed Nirin after the Wiradjuri word for ‘edge' – may have been waylaid by current events, the show will go on nonetheless, in the digital space.
From Monday, April 6, a 10-week digital curation will showcase the work of some of the Biennale’s most exciting artists, activating cool experiences on their website and social channels. This will expand onto Google’s Arts & Culture platform in the coming weeks, bringing some 700 artworks to as many eyes as possible, including 360-degree tours.
The digital experience will be sorted into seven key themes: Bila (meaning river: environment): Gurray (transformation), Muriguwal Giiland (different stories), Ngawaal-Guyungan (powerful ideas: the power of objects), Dhaagun (Earth: sovereignty and working together), Yirawy-Dhuray (yam-connection: food), Bagaray-Bang (healing).
CEO Barbara Moore says the Biennale is, “A global platform for diverse cultures and perspectives, uniting people across the world, stimulating dialogue and inspiring change. Now, more than ever, it is important to find ways to connect, to help each other, listen, collaborate and heal.”
And for parents in search of great home-schooling aids, every Tuesday the Biennale will publish conversation-starting learning material about NIRIN. So kids can engage with everything from environmental studies to Indigenous histories and cultures. Now that is art.