The article previews ten major art exhibitions opening in September 2025, highlighting the 36th Bienal de São Paulo curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, which takes inspiration from estuaries and rivers and features artists like Frank Bowling and Huguette Caland. It also covers the Okayama Art Summit 2025, directed by Philippe Parreno, which reimagines the city as a site of balance between nature and construction, and Hayv Kahraman's solo show 'Ghost Fires' at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York, reflecting her experience as a refugee from the Gulf War.
These exhibitions matter because they showcase how curators and artists are addressing urgent contemporary themes—ecology, postcolonialism, and the fluidity of identity—through innovative formats that blur boundaries between art, performance, and daily life. The Bienal de São Paulo and Okayama Art Summit, in particular, represent major international platforms that set trends in curatorial practice and attract global attention, while Kahraman's work highlights the ongoing relevance of personal and political narratives in visual art.