The Biennale Jogja will engage with countries from around the equatorial zone (spanning 23.27º north to 23.27º south of the equator) for the next 10 years. The equator is an extraordinarily fascinating area to explore – from geological, geographical, ecological, ethnographical, and historical, as well as political perspectives. It is a mosaic of islands, continents and oceans, and represents the ‘arena’ for studies, meetings, encounters, collisions, reparations and renewal.
The geo-political division of north and south, the economic division of prosperity and poverty, and cultural perceptions of ethnic stereotypes have all contributed to the development of contemporary culture. Through the focus on the Equator, Biennale Jogja envisions something a bit different, with the hope that it will induce and nurture alternative relationships and networks while incorporating art in life.
In each cycle of the Biennale, from 2011 through 2022, BJ will work with and engage in face-to-face encounters with one nation from the equatorial region, beginning in South Asia and then moving west to the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the South Pacific islands. Biennale Jogja XI 2011 will start the journey this year via an encounter with India.
Shadow Lines, the first edition, curated by Alia Swastika (Indonesia) and Suman Gopinath (India), will have forty artists from Indonesia and India collaborating in the exhibition. The theme of BJ XI “The Equator: An Indonesian and Indian Encounter” is religiosity and diversity, and will present ways in which artists from the two countries address and interpret their contemporary conditions, informed by their personal experiences, as also by the political structures of the countries they live in.
Besides the main exhibition in two venues, there will be several parallel programmes and special projects like the Equator Festival with the contemporary reinvention of the Ramayana ballet, seminars, artists’ talks and community projects.
Opening: 26 November 2011 – 8 January 2012
Jogja National Museum, Jl. Gampingan no. 1, Yogyakarta
Taman Budaya, Jl. Sri Wedani no. 1, Yogyakarta