Introduction
The Johannesburg Biennale stands as a significant moment in both South Africa's cultural history and the global contemporary art landscape. Emerging in 1995, shortly after the end of apartheid and the country's transition to democracy, the Biennale represented South Africa's reentry into the international cultural arena after decades of cultural isolation and boycotts.
Despite only lasting for two editions (1995 and 1997), the Johannesburg Biennale had a profound impact on reshaping perspectives on global art, challenging Eurocentric narratives, and creating a platform for dialogue between the Global South and North. It introduced innovative curatorial approaches that would influence biennials worldwide in subsequent decades.
The Biennale's cancellation after its second edition in 1997 due to funding challenges and shifting political priorities left a complex legacy. Nevertheless, its brief existence marked a pivotal moment in the decolonization of global art discourse and remains influential in discussions about art, politics, and representation in post-colonial contexts.
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The Lost Biennale: How Johannesburg's Bold Experiment Changed Global Art History
In the predawn hours of February 28, 1995, as workers hurried to make final adjustments to exhibition spaces across Johannesburg, South Africa stood at the threshold of a moment few could have imagined just years earlier. The nation that had been a cultural pariah—boycotted, sanctioned, and isolated from the international community—was about to host its first international art biennial. This wasn't merely an exhibition opening but a declaration that South Africa had rejoined the world stage, embracing a future where art might help navigate the complexities of a society emerging from apartheid's long shadow.
The Johannesburg Biennale, which would last for only two editions before its abrupt discontinuation, remains one of contemporary art's most consequential "failures"—an event whose influence on global exhibition practices far outstripped its brief existence. In many ways, it was a biennale born both too early and too late: emerging in a young democracy still finding its footing, yet arriving at a historical inflection point that demanded radical new approaches to exhibition-making in a rapidly globalizing world.
"When we conceived the first Johannesburg Biennale, we were navigating without maps," recalls Christopher Till, who directed the project during its inaugural edition. "South Africa had been cut off from international art circuits for decades. We had to simultaneously reintroduce South African artists to the world and bring the world to South African audiences."
The first edition, titled "Africus" and curated by Lorna Ferguson, adopted a familiar format with national pavilions from 63 countries. This traditional structure—modeled after the Venice Biennale—seemed fitting for a nation seeking legitimacy through established cultural forms. Yet even within this conventional framework, tensions emerged between local expectations and international aspirations, between addressing the immediate needs of a post-apartheid society and engaging with global art discourses.
South African artist Kendell Geers, who participated in the first Biennale, describes the atmosphere as "electric but ungrounded." He explains: "There was this incredible energy, this sense that anything was possible. But there was also confusion about what role art should play in the new South Africa. Were we creating art for international curators or for our communities? Could we do both simultaneously?"
It was the second edition in 1997, however, that would truly reshape international exhibition practices. Artistic director Okwui Enwezor, a Nigerian-born, New York-based curator who would later direct documenta 11 and the Venice Biennale, jettisoned the national pavilion model entirely. His theme, "Trade Routes: History and Geography," interrogated globalization through the lens of colonial histories and contemporary economic flows. Rather than organizing exhibitions by national origin, Enwezor assembled an international team of six curators to create thematically coherent presentations spanning venues in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
"Enwezor's approach was revolutionary," explains art historian Ruth Simbao. "By rejecting the nation-state as the organizing principle for an international exhibition, he created space for examining how identities and cultures flow across borders. This methodology anticipated how contemporary art would be curated for the next two decades."
The second Biennale's innovations weren't merely structural but epistemological. It insisted that globalization be viewed from the perspective of those who had experienced its colonial predecessors, positioning Africa not as a recipient of cultural influence but as a site of knowledge production. Artists like Yinka Shonibare, whose installation "Victorian Philanthropist's Parlour" featured Victorian furniture upholstered in "African" textiles (actually Indonesian-inspired fabrics manufactured by the Dutch and sold to West Africa), complicated simplistic narratives about cultural authenticity and appropriation.
Yet even as international critics hailed the exhibition as groundbreaking, local reception was more complex. Many South Africans felt the conceptually demanding show had limited relevance to communities still grappling with apartheid's legacies. Municipal authorities questioned whether scarce resources should be directed toward an elite art event rather than more pressing social needs. When funding was withdrawn after the second edition, the Biennale ended—a premature conclusion that paradoxically helped cement its mythic status in exhibition history.
The Johannesburg Biennale's afterlives have proved more enduring than its actual existence. Enwezor's curatorial approach at documenta 11 in 2002—with its dispersed, multi-venue format and emphasis on postcolonial discourse—clearly built upon strategies developed in Johannesburg. The proliferation of biennials in the Global South over subsequent decades, from Sharjah to Kochi-Muziris, similarly owes much to Johannesburg's precedent. Even the tensions it navigated between local relevance and global significance, between addressing historical traumas and imagining new futures, remain central to contemporary exhibition practice.
Perhaps most significantly, the Johannesburg Biennale challenged the geographical hierarchies that had long structured the art world. As South African curator Gabi Ngcobo observes, "Before Johannesburg, most major international exhibitions happened in Europe or North America, with occasional participation from elsewhere. After Johannesburg, the possibility of centering global conversations from the Global South became thinkable in a new way."
Today, as the art world grapples with questions of decolonization, representation, and the ethics of global exhibition-making, the Johannesburg Biennale's brief but brilliant trajectory offers both inspiration and caution. Its successes suggest how art can participate in moments of profound social transformation; its challenges reveal the difficulties of sustaining cultural platforms amid competing national priorities. Twenty-five years after its last edition, its legacy lives on not in Johannesburg itself—where no biennial has replaced it—but in exhibition practices worldwide that continue to build upon its radical vision of a truly global, decentered art world.
Artistic Vision & Themes
The two editions of the Johannesburg Biennale presented distinctly different curatorial visions, reflecting the rapidly evolving discourse around globalization and cultural exchange in the 1990s. Each approached the challenge of situating South Africa in the international art landscape with different methodologies and conceptual frameworks.
The first edition (1995), "Africus," curated by Lorna Ferguson, worked within the familiar framework of national representation while attempting to subvert some of its conventions. Under the theme "Decolonising our Minds," it sought to address the complex reentry of South Africa into global cultural circuits, questioning how to engage with international art systems without reproducing neo-colonial relationships. Ferguson deliberately positioned African artists at the center rather than periphery, inverting traditional hierarchies of attention.
In contrast, the second edition (1997), "Trade Routes: History and Geography," curated by Okwui Enwezor, rejected national frameworks entirely. Exploring "how economic imperatives of the last five hundred years have produced resilient cultural fusions and disjunctions," it positioned South Africa's history as a nexus of global trade, migration, and cultural exchange. This edition anticipated many of the concerns that would later become central to discussions of art in the era of globalization, including cultural hybridity, migration, and the legacies of colonialism in contemporary economic systems.
Both editions shared a commitment to addressing the complexities of identity, memory, and representation in a post-colonial context, though their approaches to these themes reflected different moments in South Africa's democratic transition—from the hopeful emergence of the "Rainbow Nation" in 1995 to the more sober assessment of global power structures by 1997.
History & Legacy
The Johannesburg Biennale emerged at a crucial juncture in South Africa's history. Conceived during the transitional period between the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 and the first democratic elections in 1994, the Biennale was officially announced just after Mandela's inauguration as president, signaling the new government's commitment to cultural reintegration with the world.
Institutional backing came from the Transitional Metropolitan Council of Johannesburg, with Christopher Till (then Director of Culture) spearheading efforts to secure political and financial support. The ambitious project faced significant challenges from the outset, including limited infrastructure, minimal institutional memory of international exhibition practices, and the need to navigate complex local politics around representation and access.
South Africa holds its first democratic elections, ending the apartheid era and setting the stage for cultural reintegration
First Johannesburg Biennale, "Africus," opens on February 28, featuring 63 national pavilions and 20 South African exhibitions
Okwui Enwezor is appointed artistic director for the second edition, signaling a new curatorial direction
Second Johannesburg Biennale, "Trade Routes: History and Geography," opens on October 10 with a radically different structure
Plans for a third edition are abandoned due to financial constraints and shifting political priorities
Enwezor directs documenta 11, drawing on approaches developed during the Johannesburg Biennale
The Biennale's legacy extends far beyond its brief existence. Enwezor's curatorial model—particularly his use of a diverse team of international curators and thematic rather than national organization—influenced countless biennials and major exhibitions that followed. More broadly, the Johannesburg Biennale helped legitimize the perspective that global art discourse should and could be led from the Global South, challenging the Euro-American centrism that had long dominated international exhibition practices.
While South Africa has not revived the Biennale, its influence lives on in other African art platforms such as Dak'Art in Senegal and the Lubumbashi Biennale in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as in the careers of many artists and curators who participated in its two editions.
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Key Figures
The Johannesburg Biennale was shaped by visionary curators, artists, and administrators whose diverse perspectives and occasional tensions defined the event's character and legacy:
- Okwui Enwezor (1963-2019) - Nigerian-born curator who directed the second Biennale, introducing radical curatorial approaches that influenced global exhibition practices. Later went on to direct documenta 11 (2002) and the Venice Biennale (2015).
- Lorna Ferguson - South African curator who led the first edition, balancing national pavilion traditions with efforts to center African perspectives. Previously directed the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg.
- Christopher Till - Director of Culture for the Transitional Metropolitan Council of Johannesburg during the first Biennale, instrumental in securing political and financial support for the initiative.
- Bongi Dhlomo-Mautloa - South African artist and curator responsible for community engagement during the first Biennale, advocating for broader public access to exhibitions.
- Gerardo Mosquera - Cuban curator who served on Enwezor's international team for the second Biennale, bringing experience from the Havana Biennial's alternative approach to exhibition-making.
- Kellie Jones - American curator on the second Biennale team, focusing on diaspora connections between African and African-American art.
- Colin Richards - South African artist, critic, and curator who participated in both editions, navigating the tensions between local and global perspectives.
Video Experience
Explore the historical context and significance of the Johannesburg Biennale through this archival documentary footage featuring interviews with key participants and glimpses of the groundbreaking exhibitions that reshaped global art discourse.
Video: Johannesburg Biennale Documentary | Watch on YouTube
Venue Locations
The Johannesburg Biennale took place across multiple venues in Johannesburg, with Museum Africa serving as one of the central locations. The second edition expanded to include venues in Cape Town as well.
- Museum Africa - Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown, Johannesburg (Main venue for both editions)
- Johannesburg Art Gallery - King George Street, Joubert Park, Johannesburg
- South African National Gallery - Government Avenue, Company's Garden, Cape Town (Second edition only)
- Market Theatre Gallery - 56 Margaret Mcingana St, Newtown, Johannesburg
- Electric Workshop - Newtown Cultural Precinct, Johannesburg
- MuseuMAfricA - 121 Bree Street, Newtown, Johannesburg
Johannesburg City Guide
While the Johannesburg Biennale is no longer active, the city remains a vibrant center for contemporary African art. Explore the cultural landscape that evolved in the decades following the Biennale.
Premier collection of African art
Arts district with galleries & cafes
Historic public art institution
Cultural heritage site with exhibitions
Art Districts
- 📍 Rosebank: Everard Read Gallery, CIRCA Gallery, and Goodman Gallery
- 📍 Braamfontein: Wits Art Museum and artist-run spaces
- 📍 Newtown: Museum Africa and the Market Theatre complex
- 📍 Maboneng: Arts on Main and independent galleries
Annual Art Events
While the Biennale is gone, Johannesburg hosts significant art events including the FNB Art Joburg (September), Turbine Art Fair (July), and RMB Latitudes (October). The city also participates in the global Gallery Weekend initiative each Spring.