After 12 years of vacation, the Alexander Biennale in Egypt will return
After a 12-year pause, the Alexander Biennale will return in its 27th edition next September, reverting an Egyptian box office art event to the global calendar.
The exhibition is curated by artist Moataz Nasr and titled “This Clay Ever” and will bring together 55 artists from the Mediterranean to participate in its main show.
“If you want to return, you have to meet high standards,” NASR told Art newspaper. “The art scene in Egypt has been like a lake for a long time and it can’t reach the bottom without oxygen. We want to throw a big rock at the lake and wave it. Now is the time to change.”
Founded in 1955, the Alexander Biennale provides a stage for regional talent under the leadership of former Gamal Abdel Nasser, when they were pursuing an artistic tradition intertwined with their national identities. Participation in its early iterations was largely limited to artists in countries bordering the Mediterranean.
The activity was suspended in 2011 amid the turmoil of the Egyptian Revolution. It briefly reopened in Egypt’s coastal cities in 2014, but closed again due to financial difficulties and ongoing political and social unrest around Hosni Mubarak’s expulsion.
NASR, who represented Egypt at the 2017 Venice Biennale, told this Art newspaper The 2027 edition will maintain its founding spirit of regional solidarity, but will be open to artists in other countries with some ability. The main exhibition will be presented by a smaller exhibition at the Alexander Museum, focusing on emerging Egyptian artists.
Alexandria is the cultural and commercial capital of the ancient Mediterranean, and Nasr’s program talks to that history, including the Roman amphitheater, the Alexandria Library and the Qaitbay Citadel.
