The 17th Bienal de Cuenca, titled "The Game," opened on 24 October in Cuenca, Ecuador, marking its 40th anniversary. The biennial features 51 artists selected by 17 international curators, with works displayed across multiple venues including museums, gardens, and the airport. The event highlights artists and curators from the Global South, focusing on social and political concerns rather than market priorities. It opened just two days after political protests ended, with a ceremony featuring an Andean ritual led by artist Carmen Vicente, whose installation "Infinite Steps" won the acquisition prize.
This biennial matters because it amplifies Ecuador's contemporary art scene, which remains largely unknown internationally, while offering a counterpoint to major commercial art fairs like Art Basel Paris. The event's playful theme belies a serious engagement with Indigenous knowledge, political volatility, and collective memory, as seen in Vicente's memorial to Covid-19 victims. With new initiatives like the Eacheve Foundation museum and Quito Design Week, the biennial signals growing cultural energy in Ecuador despite ongoing political unrest.