Artistic Director of the 21st Biennale of Sydney, Mami Kataoka, has announced the names of the first 21 artists selected for exhibition in next year’s event.  Among the line-up of world-renowned international practitioners is UNSW Art & Design graduate, Brook Andrew.

Kataoka, Chief Curator at the Mori Art Museum (MAM) in Toyko, is the first-ever curator of the Biennale from Asia. Biennale of Sydney Chair, Kate Mills, says it’s expected that Kataoka “will bring a truly fresh perspective and an Asian sensibility to the exhibition in 2018, enabling Biennale artists and audiences to explore in greater depth our relationship with the Asia Pacific region and challenge conventional wisdoms.”

Kataoka says she has a special interest in “the role that the Biennale has played in bringing international contemporary art, artists, and art curators to Australia for more than 40 years. As Artistic Director, I am interested to ask how we can test the Biennales significance given the growing understanding of multiple modernities; the many social-political contexts, and accelerated complexities in the world conditions today.”  

Further selected artists for the 21st Biennale of Sydney include; Eila-Liisa Ahtila, Ai Weiwei, Oliver Beer, Anya Gallaccio, Laurent Grasso, NS Harsha, Mit Jai Inn, Kate Newby, Noguchi Rika, Nguyen Trinh Thi, Ciara Phillips, Koji Ryui, Semiconductor (Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt), Yasmin Smith, George Tjungurrayi, Nicole Wong, Wong Hoy Cheung, Yukinori Yanagi, Haehue Yang, and Jun Yang. 

2018 marks the 45th anniversary of the Biennale of Sydney and in celebration, the event will feature a special exhibition of artworks from the organisations archives. 

The 21st Biennale of Sydney will preview from 13-15 March 2018 and will open to the public on Friday 16 March, 2018.