Nurture Gaia: Bangkok Art Biennale 2024 Announces Artist Lineup and Additional Venues

The Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) is returning for its fourth edition this October under the theme Nurture Gaia. Set in the capital city of Thailand, Bangkok Art Biennale was founded in 2017 with the mission of transforming Bangkok into Southeast Asia's leading contemporary art destination. Taking over public spaces around the city, including temples and heritage sites, the biennale highlights the city's charm by bridging Rattanakosin's cultural heritage with Bangkok's urbanism. Running from October 24, 2024, to 25 February 25, 2025, this year's edition will showcase 45 leading artists across nine venues.

The biennale's theme, Nurture Gaia, draws its inspiration from the maternal figure of Mother Earth, symbolizing her historical expressions as a nurturer and giver of life across cultures. Conceptually extending upon this, the Bangkok Art Biennale will explore vital contemporary themes such as anthropology, collectivism, ecology, feminism, and the politics of time and place. The "Gaia Hypothesis" proposes that the Earth is a living organism that supports life across organic and inorganic matter. Today, we face urgent issues such as climate change, pandemics, war, and environmental destruction caused by humans. There is a growing realization that humanity faces critical challenges as an integral part of Earth.

Bangkok Art Biennale will feature a constellation of artworks, many of which will be on display for the first time, including drawings, paintings, sculptures, video works, and installations from established and emerging artists and collectives such as Adel Abdessemed (Algeria-France), Susan Collins (UK), Chiara Camoni (Italy), Priyageetha Dia (Singapore), Guerreiro do Divino Amor (Switzerland-Brazil), Louise Bourgeois (France), Camille Henrot (France-USA), Choi Jeong Hwa (South Korea), Chitra Ganesh (USA), Aki Inomata (Japan), Elmgreen & Dragset (Denmark and Norway), Isaac Chong Wai (Hong Kong-Berlin), and Lisa Reihana (New Zealand), among others.

Program highlights during the Vernissage week also include a series of performances and symposiums, such as performances by Kira O'Reilly (Finland-Ireland), whose work explores the experiences of menopause, and Amanda Coogan (Ireland), who spotlights the marginalized community of sign language users, representing a linguistic minority on a global stage.

In addition, Isaac Chong Wai will present a video installation representing an ongoing investigation into collective bodies, Elmgreen & Dragset will showcase a philosophical sculpture, and Choi Jeong Hwa will present a series of installations that will be displayed at various venues across the biennale.

International artists also include those from Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Congo, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK, and the USA. In addition to the artists and collectives selected by the Bangkok Art Biennale's curatorial team, the Biennale also showcases selected applicants from the Open Call program held from October to November 2023.

For its 2024 edition, the Bangkok Art Biennale will also add three additional venues, including the National Gallery of Thailand and Siwamokhaphiman Hall (National Museum Bangkok), as well as the returning venues BAB BOX and Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC). This year's expansion of international artists and venues aims to enrich the city-wide event and continues to spotlight Southeast Asia's vibrant art scene while bringing diverse international perspectives to the continent. The various locations also include heritage sites such as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha and the Temple of Dawn, the Museum Siam, art galleries, and a new sustainability-driven development for the city, One Bangkok.