Presentation

The educational nature of the successive editions of the Bienal de São Paulo is one of the characteristics that makes the event outstanding among the international exhibitions of contemporary art. The cultivation and continuous improvement of relations with teachers and students of the public and private school system, educators, universities and other institutional partners are part of an ongoing work by the Bienal to ensure that different segments of the public have access to the contents and experiences provided by the exhibitions.

Existing since the show’s 1st edition, in 1951, initiatives for forging relationships with different publics, especially with teachers and students, have been strengthened over the years around three modes of activity, currently understood as: mediation, outreach and relationship with teachers.

This structure of activity carried out with various segments of the public provides the basis for designing and implementing the educational project of each edition of the Bienal, in dialogue with the curatorial references and with the artworks featured in the show. At the 34th Bienal, the notions of rehearsal and relation, the transparency/opacity dyad and the various points of view concerning a single object or question are the working materials for the educational project.

The initiatives aimed at teachers and students include educational publications that are conceived as an initial contact between each edition of the Bienal and some of its potential publics. Primeiros ensaios [First Essays] is the educational publication of the 34th Bienal and is available for download at the link to the right.

Mediation

The Bienal’s mediation activities involve a professional who constructs, together with visitors, a conversation based on works in the exhibition, cultivating a relationship for the exchange of knowledge and perceptions. 

The guided visits can take place through prescheduled appointments for groups, or in the hours available for visits on a walk-in basis. A guided visit can also take place on the initiative of the visitors themselves, who should make a request to the mediators within the exhibition space. 

There will also be a series of programmed visits, made by mediators or other invited professionals, focused on specific contents and research topics.

Exhibition details for the group show (from October to December)

Scheduled visits, lasting up to two hours.
Scheduling starting in May, at this website.
Available in Portuguese, English, Spanish and Libras sign language for hard-of-hearing people.

Visits on a walk-in basis, lasting up to one hour.
Hours: Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Scheduled visits, conducted by mediators or other invited professionals with a focus on specific contents and research topics. As of October, keep tabs on the programming here.

Diffusion

The diffusion actions establish relationships with different publics (students, researchers, partners, professionals from different areas, Ibirapuera Park visitors) through a regular programming of events with different formats, before and during the Bienal, with the aim of disseminating contemporary art and contents related to the shows.

Keep tabs on the programming of the diffusion actions here.

Relationship with teachers

Visiting the Bienal de São Paulo is an opportunity for teachers to enlarge their repertoire of references based on first-hand contact with contemporary art.

Through partnerships with secretariats of education and public and private schools, projects are developed which link the teaching of art as a curriculum component with the contents of the shows.

Contact: educacao@bienal.org.br