Introduction

The Bahia Biennale is an international contemporary art event hosted in Salvador, the capital of Bahia state in northeastern Brazil. Established as a platform for artistic exchange centered on the African diaspora, the biennale highlights Bahia's unique position as a cultural crossroads where African, Indigenous, and European traditions have intermingled for centuries.

Drawing on Salvador's history as the first colonial capital of Brazil and the primary port of entry for enslaved Africans, the biennale creates a vital space for exploring questions of identity, heritage, memory, and resistance through contemporary artistic practices. It serves as a nexus for dialogue between local artists and international practitioners engaged with diasporic experience and decolonial perspectives.

Narrative & Themes

The Bahia Biennale foregrounds artistic practices that engage with the complex cultural, social, and historical landscape of Bahia, a region whose identity has been profoundly shaped by the African diaspora. Each edition is developed around specific thematic frameworks that address issues of historical memory, cultural preservation, racial justice, environmental concerns, and the continuing legacies of colonialism.

The biennale consistently emphasizes the interconnectedness of artistic, spiritual, and political practices in Bahian culture. It creates space for work that engages with Afro-Brazilian religious traditions such as Candomblé, capoeira, and other cultural forms that have served as vehicles for resistance and preservation of African heritage through centuries of oppression.

Recent editions have particularly focused on fostering South-South exchanges, creating dialogues between artists from Brazil, Africa, the Caribbean, and other regions with shared histories of colonization. This approach challenges Eurocentric art narratives while creating new networks of solidarity and exchange across the Global South.

History & Context

The Bahia Biennale was established in 2012 as an initiative of the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia in collaboration with cultural organizations and community groups throughout Salvador. It emerged from a recognition of the need for a major international art event that would center Bahia's rich cultural heritage while fostering dialogue with contemporary global art practices.

The biennale's identity is deeply connected to Salvador, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Brazil's first capital (1549-1763). As the center of the country's sugar economy and the main port of entry for enslaved Africans, Salvador developed a distinctive culture in which African traditions were preserved and transformed. Today, Salvador is often called "the most African city outside Africa," with over 80% of its population identifying as Black or mixed-race.

Exhibition Venues

The Museum of Modern Art of Bahia (MAM-BA), housed in the historic Solar do Unhão complex overlooking the Bay of All Saints, serves as the primary venue for the Bahia Biennale. This 16th-century colonial sugar mill converted into a museum offers a powerful context for contemporary art, embodying the complex intersection of colonial history and cultural resilience that characterizes Bahia.

The biennale extends beyond MAM-BA to incorporate multiple venues throughout Salvador, including the Pelourinho historic district, Mercado Modelo, São Francisco Church and Convent, and various public spaces. This distributed exhibition model encourages visitors to experience the rich architectural and cultural heritage of Salvador while engaging with contemporary art in diverse contexts.