Biennial of the Americas

The Biennial of the Americas is an international festival of ideas, art, and culture hosted in Denver, Colorado every two years.[1] According to its website, the Biennial strives to provide a platform for people from across the region to examine major issues impacting life in the Americas. With three main themes of ideas, art, and culture, the Biennial is designed to bring together experts and leaders from across North, South, and Central America in a variety of formats that include panel discussions, peer-to-peer workshops, art exhibits, outdoor architectural installations, and public parties.[2]

Janet Echelman: 1.26 sculpture, 2010 Biennial of the Americas

2013 Festival

The 2013 Biennial of the Americas took place in Denver, CO from July 16- September 2. The latest Biennial of the Americas occurred in September 2019 in Denver on the theme of "Empathy in Action." The 2013 opening week began on July 16 with the theme “Unleashing Human Potential: Reinventing Communities, Business, and Education”.[3] 'Ideas' events ran through the closing symposium on July 19, but art and cultural pieces remained on display through Labor Day, September 2.

Ideas

Speakers during the inaugural week (July 16–19) included:[4]

July 16: Reinventing Communities, Business, and Education

July 17: Reinventing Communities and How we Live

July 18: Reinventing Business as Usual

July 19: Reinventing Education for the Global Market

Art

Along with recruiting high-profile speakers, the Biennial commissions major artistic exhibitions throughout the city of Denver. Artists and architects from across the Americas participate in the programming.:[5] The Biennial of the Americas’ 2013 exhibition, Draft Urbanism, was curated by Carson Chan, Gaspar Libedinsky, Paul Andersen, and Cortney Stell.[6] The exhibition brought together artists and architects from across the Americas to create site-specific art and architectural installations throughout Downtown Denver and in the historic McNichols Building. The exhibition explored the many meanings of the word “draft,” looking at the ideas of iteration, process, and the ever-changing urban fabric. In addition to last year's Draft Urbanism, the Biennial of the Americas will highlight Denver's cultural offerings with featured exhibitions, films, public parties, performances, and other events intended to explore the various cultures of the Americas during the upcoming festival as well.:[7]

Culture

The Biennial also organized a series of public festivals throughout Denver in tandem with organizations such as the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, Arts and Venues Denver, the Center for Visual Arts, the Clyfford Still Museum, the Colorado Ballet, the Colorado Symphony, the Denver Architectural Foundation, the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Botanical Gardens, Denver Digerati, the Denver Film Society, the Denver International Airport Art Gallery, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Mexican Cultural Center, Museo de las Americas, Platte Forum, Santa Fe Art District, Su Teatro, Redline, Rino Arts District, and Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.:[8]

  • July 16: Art Opening: Draft Urbanism[9]
  • July 17: Canada Night at Sustainability Park[10]
  • July 18: Mexico Night!
  • July 19: Denver Night![11]

Public festivals will also be a part of the 2015 Biennial of the Americas.

History
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper

Before becoming governor, John Hickenlooper served as the Mayor of Denver from 2003 to 2011. During that time he developed a vision for an event that would celebrate the ideas and cultures of the Americas, believing that such an event would highlight Denver as a hub for bipartisan discussion. This idea developed into what is now the Biennial of the Americas.[12] During the inaugural Biennial of the Americas in 2010, the Biennial welcomed national and international visitors during a month-long celebration. Programming included free musical performances by artists such as Juana Molina, and a number of artistic exhibitions across Denver.[13][14][15] Speakers participated in roundtable discussions that ranged widely by subject. Topics included education, philanthropy, climate and energy change, health, public and private collaboration, poverty reduction, trade, and women as “Drivers in the New Economy”.[16] Roundtable participants included:

  • Alejandro Toledo, former president of the Republic of Peru
  • Fernanado de la Rúa, former president of the Argentine Republic
  • Gustavo Noboa, former president of the Republic of Ecuador
  • Hipólito Mejía, former president of the Dominican Republic
  • Nicolás Ardito Barletta, former president of the Republic of Panama
  • Rodrigo Borja Cavallos, former president of the Republic of Ecuador
  • Vinicio Cerezo, former president of the Republic of Guatemala
  • Arturo Fermandois, former Ambassador of Chile to the United States
  • Arturo Sarukhan, former Ambassador of Mexico to the United States
  • Carolina Barco, former Ambassador of Colombia to the United States
  • Francisco Villagran, Ambassador of Guatemala to the United States
  • Gary Doer, Ambassador of Canada to the United States
  • Jaime Alemán, former Ambassador of Panama to the United States
  • Hugo Llorens, former Ambassador of the United States to Honduras
  • Luis Valdivieso, former Ambassador of Chile to the United States
  • Mauro Vieira, Ambassador of Brazil to the United States
  • Thomas Shannon, Ambassador of the United States to Brazil
  • Vilma Martinez, Ambassador of the United States to Argentina
  • William Brownfield, Ambassador of the United States to Colombia

Artists that participated in the 2010 Biennial of the Americas included Felipe Mujica, Brigida Baltar, Jeronimo Hagerman, Lucia Koch, Santiago Cucullo, Clark Richert, Ronald Rael, Virginia San Fratello, Teddy Cruz, Nicolas de Moncheaux, Alexis Rochas, Joseph Shaeffer and Estafonia Peñafiel.[17]

References
  1. "Biennial of the Americas Website". Biennial of the Americas. Archived from the original on 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
  2. Rinaldi, Ray Mark. "Denver Biennial Brings Butterflies, Beer (and Tina Brown) next month". The Denver Post.
  3. Finance, Yahoo. "Yahoo Finance Announcement". Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  4. Release, Press (June 13, 2013). "Wall Street Journal". Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  5. "Biennial of the Americas 2013 Draft Urbanism". E-flux.
  6. "Four Curators Elaborate the 2013 Biennial of the Americas, Draft Urbanism..." Biennial Foundation. 18 June 2013.
  7. Forbes, Alexander. "Curator Carson Chan on Serving Up 2013's Beer-Themed Biennial of the Americas". Blouin Art Info.
  8. "Biennial of the Americas Cultural Programming". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  9. "RMCAD Faculty, Staff and Alumni to Take Part in the Biennial of the Americas". Rocky Mountain College of Art. 19 June 2013.
  10. "Redline: Imagined Realities Event Page". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  11. "Biennial of the Americas Public Festivals". Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  12. "Biennial of the Americas FAQ". Biennial of the Americas. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  13. Korolowicz, Kristin. "2010 Biennial of the Americas". Art Lurker. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  14. "Civic Center Event Page".
  15. MacMillan, Kyle. "Curator for July's Biennial of the Americas Knows Time is Short". The Denver Post.
  16. "Remarks by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis". United States Department of Labor. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  17. "Special Edition: Biennial of the Americas 2010". Icosa Magazine. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
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