The Biennial of the Americas Comes To Denver
2008 is shaping up to be a landmark year for the Mile High City, with the highly anticipated Democratic National Convention taking place in August and the celebration of Denver’s 150th Birthday in November. But looking forward to the not-too-distant future, Denver has even bigger things in store. In the historic tradition of Venice and Sao Paolo, the world’s newest international contemporary art biennial is coming to Denver, Colorado in the summer of 2010.
The Denver Biennial of the Americas will be a two-month-long citywide extravaganza celebrating contemporary art and ideas from throughout the Americas. The Biennial will feature two major cultural exhibitions, one focusing on the contemporary arts of the Americas and a secondary program, an “ideas pavilion,” that will explore themes ranging from science to urban planning. Respected curators, to be announced in the fall of 2008, will lead each program.
“From the tip of the Tierra del Fuego to the Northern Hudson Bay, we will bring together and showcase the best contemporary artists of all the Americas in what will become one of the major art celebrations in this part of the world,” Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said.
As with similar biennials in Sao Paolo and Vienna, Denver’s Biennial of the Americas will place the city amongst the world’s great cultural metropolises, and will attract a wide variety of international scholars, art appreciators and collectors, journalists and travelers. But the Biennial will also be a homegrown happening: Cultural projects and events will take place throughout the Denver metro area, integrating this festival of the arts into the civic life of the Mile High City and the Rocky Mountain region. After its grand inaugural kickoff in 2010, the Biennial will be repeated every two years, with each event taking advantage of Denver’s rapidly expanding resources and attractions.
The Denver Biennial of the Americas serves as a fitting cap to a decade that has seen the Mile High City’s cultural status grow in leaps and bounds, thanks in part to the Daniel Libeskind-designed expansion of the Denver Art Museum, the new permanent home for the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver designed by David Adjaye and the forthcoming Clyfford Still Museum, not to mention a lively gallery scene and dozens of renowned local artists making their home in the city.
“Denver is a young city that captures the vitality and energy of the Americas through our heritage our diverse contemporary culture,” said Hickenlooper. “We look forward to the focusing the world’s attention on the art and ideas important to our hemisphere every two years.”