Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 has announced the theme for its second edition. On the title of Escape Routes, the artistic director Apinan Poshyanada has commented: “In the grave new world that we live in, cracks are appearing everywhere… The quest for immortality, eternal happiness and superhuman powers often make us forget how miniscule we are on this planet. In one way or another, artists create ‘escape routes’ to make us aware of the paths of sufficiency, sustainability and inclusivity. The artists will reflect on issues such as environmental detriment, pollution, social malaise, gender, diaspora and political differences.”
Apinan Poshyanada’s curatorial team will consist of Sook-Kyung Lee (senior curator, international art at Tate Modern, UK), Dow Wasiksiri (president of the Royal Photographic Society of Thailand), Wutigorn Kongka (assistant professor of architecture at King’s Mongkut Institute of Technology Ladkrabang), and Ong Puay Khim (former deputy director of Curatorial Programmes at NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore).
Along with the announcement of next year’s theme, Bangkok Art Biennale have also confirmed the first 16 artists who will be participating in Escape Routes, which is due to go on show in October:
Anish Kapoor, UK
Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Thailand
Bill Viola, USA
Julia Fullerton-Batten, Germany
Leandro Erlich, Argentina
Melati Suryodarmo, Indonesia
Dinh Q. Lê, Vietnam
Rirkrit Tiravanija, Thailand
Lu Yang, China
Zhang Kechun, China
Nipan Oranniwesna, Thailand
Ana Prvački, Serbia
Thanet Aowsinsiri, Thailand
Baatarzorig Batjargal, Mongolia
Yuree Kensaku, Thailand
Ho Rui An, Singapore
14 November 2019
