The 36th São Paulo Bienal, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and his team, explores the theme of humanity through six chapters, from the primordial to the transcendent. The exhibition features works by artists such as Precious Okoyomon, Frank Bowling, Aline Baiana, Gervane de Paula, Frankétienne, and Sharon Hayes, with a focus on textiles, sound, and jewel-toned aesthetics. The curators draw inspiration from avian migration and estuaries, structuring the show like tributaries connecting "the river to the sea," a phrase echoing Palestinian sovereignty without explicit mention. Highlights include Okoyomon's installation of dirt and plants, a career-spanning Frank Bowling survey, and Gervane de Paula's playful wood carvings that reveal subtle, provocative details upon close inspection.
This biennial matters because it grapples with urgent contemporary questions about humanity in an era of genocide, AI, and environmental crisis, insisting on the right to beauty, dreaming, and play for all people. By centering artists subject to dehumanization due to race, gender, sexuality, or nationality, the show makes a political and ethical statement about humaneness and survival. The curatorial framework—linking human and humus, migration and borders—offers a poetic yet pointed critique of anthropocentrism and geopolitical divisions, positioning the Bienal as a platform for both aesthetic innovation and social commentary.