Typical art biennials take place in large urban centres. Considering forms of personhood in wildlife and landscapes, the Biennale Gherdëina is an exception to the rule, located in the unique setting of the Unesco World Heritage Centre of the Dolomites. Opening on 20 May 2022, BIENNALE GHERDËINA ∞ PERSONES PERSONS is a series of installations, performances, sculptures, sound pieces, textile works, walks and interactive experiences, all across and in response to the landscape. 

In its eight edition, the Biennale asks how artistic expressions contribute to the recognition of Earth’s rights and themes of migration, seasonal displacement and transhumance in the region and resonating landscapes. 

Doris Ghetta, founder and Director of Biennale Gherdëina explains, “we are living in what has been described as “the era of living creatures”….this means that, if we are to plan a sustainable society, we can no longer incline towards an anthropocentric worldview but need to centre our way of seeing reality around all living things: from air to plants, water, snow, animals and, of course, human beings”

The Biennale is curated by Lucia Pietroiusti, who works at the intersection of art, ecology and systems typically outside of the gallery format, and Filipa Ramos, Strategic Advisor for Ecology at Serpentine, London, and co-founder of the climate-justice focused non-profit, Radical Ecology. 

BIENNALE GHERDËINA ∞ PERSONES PERSONS features artists Etel Adnan, Chiara Camoni, Alex Cecchetti, Gabriel Chaile, Revital Cohen and Tuur Van Balen, Jimmie Durham, Simone Fattal, Barbara Gamper, Kyriaki Goni, Judith Hopf, Ignota, Karrabing Film Collective, Lina Lapelyte, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Eduardo Navarro, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Angelo Plessas, Tabita Rezaire, Sergio Rojas, Giles Round, Thaddäus Salcher, Martina Steckholzer, Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser), Ana Vaz and Nuno da Luz, and Bruno Walpoth.