The World Tree [El árbol del mundo]

Fri 6 Dec, 2024

Guatemala

Under the title The World Tree [El árbol del mundo], the 24th Bienal de Arte Paiz will showcase a wide range of new commissions, presenting international artists from various backgrounds and generations across the five continents – highlighting voices from Indigenous, Aboriginal, and First Nations communities, and encompassing diverse sexualities and genders. The Biennial will take place 6 November 2025 – 15 February 2026.

It will engage in critical dialogues with the history and physical characteristics of the Biennial’s venues, while broadly addressing events and concerns that shape our lives; exploring areas where people live and move, and merging public and private spaces.

The World Tree [El árbol del mundo] asserts that art must foster empathy within the complex web of languages, religions, cultures, and histories that shape our global society, promoting understanding and connection in an increasingly interconnected yet fragmented world.

It sets art to stimulate inclusivity by bridging distant worlds and reconciling diverse perspectives across cultures and times.

In a statement curator Eugenio Viola said:

“Today, the metaphor of ‘The World Tree’ stands as a universal symbol of our interconnectedness across cultures, time, and space. Drawing from ancient cosmogonies, this symbol transcends traditional boundaries by illustrating how the spiritual, material, individual, and collective realms interweave within our shared human experience.

The tree’s trunk, branches, and leaves reflect our diverse histories, contemporary challenges, and aspirations. Its roots remind the rhizomatic structure of the web. This connection between the grounded and the ethereal creates a dynamic flow of information and ideas, mirroring the cyclical nature of existence.

Similar to the world tree, contemporary art has the unique ability to connect different aspects of human experience. It can bridge the past and present, the spiritual and material, myth and reality, and the individual and collective dimensions.

The current world is plagued by wars and an alarming surge of intolerance across all levels—ethnic, social, cultural, political, religious, and gender-based. ‘The World Tree’ symbolises the transformative potential of contemporary art to foster understanding, celebrate diversity, and inspire change. It creates bridges that unite rather than walls that divide and represents a call to action for fostering unity and promoting inclusivity.”

About the Curator

Born in Naples, 1975, Eugenio Viola, Ph.D., is the current Artistic Director of MAMBO – Bogotá Modern Art Museum in Colombia, where he curated the first institutional exhibition in Colombia of artists such as Voluspa Jarpa, Alexander Apostol, Ana Gallardo, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Dor Guez, and Kader Attia.

About Bienal de Arte Paiz

The Bienal de Arte Paiz has been one of Central America’s most important contemporary art events since 1978, making it the sixth-oldest Biennial in the world and the second in Latin America. Through free exhibitions and events, the Biennial provides various ways for the public to access contemporary art knowledge, bringing together artists, curators, critics, and local and international personalities. It serves as a platform for the exhibition, creation, and dissemination of national artistic production.

Guatemala