36th Bienal de São Paulo to Conceive Humanity as a Verb
Conceptual team for the 36th São Paulo Biennial, from left to right: Keyna Eleison, Alya Sebti, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Henriette Gallus, Anna Roberta Goetz, and Thiago de Paula Souza. Courtesy João Medeiros and Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.
The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo today announced the curatorial concept and other details of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo.
Taking place from 6 September 2025 to 11 January 2026, four weeks longer than previous editions, the exhibition is titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice.
The exhibition takes its title from Afro-Brazilian poet Conceição Evaristo’s poem ‘Da calma e do silêncio’ (Of calm and silence) in which she writes, ‘not every traveler / walks roads, / there are submerged worlds, / that only silence / from poetry penetrates.’
The Bienal is led by chief curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung with co-curators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz and Thiago de Paula Souza, as well as co-curator at large Keyna Eleison and strategy and communication advisor Henriette Gallus.
Ndikung said the exhibition’s theme is ‘is an invitation to deliberate on the dismantling of asymmetries as a prerequisite for humanity as a practice, just as this Bienal gives us to centre joy, beauty and their poeticalities as the gravitational forces that keep our worlds on their axes... for joy and beauty are political.’
Not All Travellers Walk Roads will be split into three ‘fragments’ or ‘axes’—one claiming space and time, one asking for the public to see themselves reflected in others, and one that takes the estuary, where saltwater and freshwater meet, as a symbol of encounters, including those between slaves abducted from Africa and the new world.
A cycle of ‘invocations’ will see the Bienal hold talks, lectures, workshops and performances in four territories around the world: Morocco and Guadeloupe in 2024, and Tanzania and Japan in 2025.
These invocations will act as ‘tributaries’, converging on the main body of the Bienal at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion in São Paulo. —[O]
Main image: Conceptual team for the 36th São Paulo Biennial, from left to right: Keyna Eleison, Alya Sebti, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Henriette Gallus, Anna Roberta Goetz, and Thiago de Paula Souza. Courtesy João Medeiros and Fundação Bienal de São Paulo.
A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.
Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.
Learn more about Ocula Magazine
Showcasing the best of the art world.
Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.
Learn more about Ocula Membership
Specialises in the sale of major artworks.
Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.
Learn more about our team and services