BiennaleOnline is a biennial exhibition of contemporary art. This exhibition's platform is the first of its kind to be held online. The exhibition aims to focus on the most promising emerging visual artists worldwide, presenting works in New Media, Installation, Traditional Media, Photography and Performance. These artists will come from Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and the Middle East, and have been selected by 29 leading international curators.
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The inaugural exhibition launched on April 26, 2013 and is called "Reflection & Imagination" with Jan Hoet serving as the artistic director.
Overview
BiennaleOnline was founded by David Dehaeck and Nathalie Haveman in 2012. The exhibition was set to be launched on September 2012, however it was moved to April 2013. The exhibition is organized by ARTPLUS, a mobile exhibition platform for art lovers and collectors of contemporary art.
The first BiennaleOnline is directed by Jan Hoet. Hoet previously served as the artistic director of Documenta IX and the museum MARTa Herford, Germany, and was a founder of SMAK in Ghent, Belgium. 25 artists, which are carefully chosen by Hoet, will be represented in the center section of the exhibition called "Reflection & Imagination". Jan Hoet died in a hospital in Ghent on February 27, 2014.
BiennaleOnline is the first of its kind, curated, exclusively online biennial exhibition of contemporary art. 29 Leading international curators select the 183 most promising artists at a critical moment, when they are poised to become established artists. BiennaleOnline aimes to offer an exhibition which breaks away from the conventional notion of Art as an elite pastime, confined to faraway galleries and those with the leisure and funds to enjoy it.
BiennaleOnline started with a "Pay What You want" payment wall. The founders very soon noticed that it was blocking visitors from entering the exhibition. In the best interest of the artists it was decided in May 2012 to remove the payment wall to ensure maximum exposure of their works. Soon after the removal of the payment wall the number of visitors surged to 400.000 within 1 year after opening.
Artists
The participating artists are:
Curators
The team consists of leading international curators who are affiliated with prestigious museums such as the Guggenheim Museum and the Jewish Museum in New York City, United States; Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France; the Serpentine Gallery in London, United Kingdom; Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden; Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland; SMAK in Ghent, Belgium; Leeum - Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Japan; the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; the MAC in Hornu, Belgium and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit, Canada.
The participating curators are:
The second BiennaleOnline
The second BiennaleOnline will launch in 2017 . The BiennaleOnline attracted more than 400.000 visitors since its launch in April 2012. The success the BiennaleOnline led to the decision to present the exhibition on its native platform separate from ART+. In 2014 ART+ modified its business model to focus solely on facilitating secure ownership and trade of media art online.