| Art centers are gradually moving centrifugally from the traditional cultural hubs, such as Western Europe and the main cities in North America, to the global periphery. Simultaneously, smaller cities, or cities where the art scene is generally perceived to be less developed, seem to be gradually moving towards the spotlight. Against this backdrop, this thesis aims to explore the current expanded universe of biennials, and to shed light on this shift from traditional art centers to more remote locations. Through a case-study approach, which included the Venice Biennale, La Habana Bienal, Manifesta and SITE Santa Fe we were able to develop a better understanding of what are the main forces shifting art towards the periphery and how such forces operate.;This study contends that the key driving force of these events is the aspiration to preserve the richness of diversity rather than embrace a false sense of universality or homogeneity. This thesis also concludes that the advent of those biennials deeply influenced by the notion of Critical Regionalism, such as Manifesta or SITElines, should not be viewed as an isolated event but as a natural response to the growing inability of the more-established art events to address the complexities of an increasingly multicultural world. |
