The 28th Bienal de Sâo Paulo:
a post-mortem discussion

Tuesday 27 January 2009
Lecture Theatre Chelsea College of Arts and Design
5.15 – 7.00pm

Aiming to offer a platform for observation and reflection upon the culture
and system of biennials within the international art circuit, the 28th
Bienal de Sâo Paulo (Oct-Dec 2008) proposed a different format from
previous editions. After the event, Moacir dos Anjos, Michael Asbury,
Elizabeth Araújo Lima and Isobel Whitelegg will each focus on different
aspects of the edition that was titled ‘In Living Contact’ and colloquially
termed the ‘Empty Bienal’. In turn, they will each review and raise for
open discussion its curatorial concept, critical reception, and the
unplanned intervention that marked its opening to the public.

Venue:
University of the Arts London
16 John Islip Street
London SW1P 4JU

TrAIN Conversations Spring 2009, Central Saint Martins, Southampton Row
Mondays, 17.30-19.00. Cochrane 203A (in the Research Office section)

16 February: Peter Osborne:
'To Each Present its Own Prehistory: The Fiction of the Contemporary'
A leading philosopher, Peter Osborne has written numerous essays on
contemporary and recent art. In this conversation he reflects on the
boundaries of the contemporary and the transnational constructions of its
pasts. His publications include Walter Benjamin: Critical Evaluations in
Cultural Theory, 2005; Conceptual Art, 2002; The Politics of
Time,1995..Philosophies of Race and Ethnicity, 2002 . He is an editor of
the journal Radical Philosophy and Professor of Modern European Philosophy;
Aesthetics and Art Theory at Middlesex University.

9 March:
T J Demos in Conversation about the Tate Triennial
T.J. Demos will discuss the Tate’s fourth Triennial exhibition, curated by
Nicolas Bourriaud, which proposes the curator’s new concept of the
Altermodern. T.J.Demos writes widely on modern and contemporary art and his
essays have appeared in journals including Grey Room and October. He is
also a critic, writing for magazines such as Artforum, Texte zur Kunst, and
Art Press. His concerns centers on the conjunction of art and politics,
geopolitical and aesthetic displacement, art and diaspora. His most recent
book is The Exiles of Marcel Duchamp, 2007.

What makes a transnational practice or perspective in art, art writing and
curating? TrAIN Conversations are informal conversations with invited
artists, writers and curators. TrAIN conversations are organised and
chaired by Deborah Cherry, and they are held on Mondays during term time at
the Southampton Row site of Central Saint Martins.