The list of 120 artists that will participate in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo is out.
This edition, titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice will be curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung. The Bienal theme and title is inspired by Conceição Evaristo’s poem Da calma e do silêncio (Of Calm and Silence).
The conceptual team, which is also composed of co-curators Alya Sebti, Anna Roberta Goetz, Thiago de Paula Souza, co-curator at large Keyna Eleison and communications and strategy advisor Henriette Gallus, said their methodology to select participants was inspired by bird migration patterns.
The artist hail ‘from regions traversed by rivers, seas, deserts, and mountains. These landscapes, with their accompanying waters and shores, are imbued with stories of migration, resistance, and coexistence. Rivers such as the Wouri, the Thames, the Amazon, the Hudson, the Limpopo, the Essequibo and Matanzas Bay guide the symbolic mapping of the artists’ origins and routes’. This process, Ndikung added, ‘helped us avoid classifications based on nation-states and borders.’
The artist list comes following a series of workshops held internationally, engaging with artists and audiences in Marrakech, Guadeloupe, Zanzibar and Tokyo.
The full list of artists is:
Adama Delphine Fawundu; Adjani Okpu-Egbe; Aislan Pankararu; Akinbode Akinbiyi; Alain Padeau; Alberto Pitta; Aline Baiana; Amina Agueznay; Ana Raylander Mártis dos Anjos; Andrew Roberts; Antonio Társis; Behjat Sadr; Berenice Olmedo; Bertina Lopes; Camille Turner; Carla Gueye; Cevdet Erek; Chaïbia Talal; Christopher Cozier; Cici Wu; Cynthia Hawkins; Edival Ramosa; Emeka Ogboh; Ernest Cole; Ernest Mancoba; Farid Belkahia; Firelei Báez; Forensic Architecture; Forugh Farrokhzad; Frank Bowling; Frankétienne; Gê Viana; Gervane de Paula; Gōzō Yoshimasu; Hajra Waheed; Hamedine Kane; Hamid Zénati; Hao Jingban; Heitor dos Prazeres; Helena Uambembe; Hessie (Carmen Lydia Đurić); Huguette Caland; I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni); Imran Mir; Isa Genzken; Joar Nango with the Girjegumpi crew; Josèfa Ntjam; Juliana dos Santos; Julianknxx; Kader Attia; Kamala Ibrahim Ishag; Kenzi Shiokava; Korakrit Arunanondchai; Laila Hida; Laure Prouvost; Leiko Ikemura; Leila Alaoui; Leo Asemota; Leonel Vásquez; Lidia Lisbôa; Lynn Hershman Leeson; Madame Zo; Madiha Umar; Malika Agueznay; Manauara Clandestina; Mansour Ciss Kanakassy; Mao Ishikawa; Márcia Falcão; Maria Auxiliadora; María Magdalena Campos-Pons; Marlene Almeida; Maxwell Alexandre; Meriem Bennani; Metta Pracrutti; Michele Ciacciofera; Ming Smith; Minia Biabiany; Moffat Takadiwa; Mohamed Melehi; Moisés Patrício; Myriam Omar Awadi; Myrlande Constant; Nádia Taquary; Nari Ward; Nguyễn Trinh Thi; Noor Abed; Nzante Spee; Olivier Marboeuf; Olu Oguibe; Oscar Murillo; Otobong Nkanga; Pélagie Gbaguidi; Pol Taburet; Precious Okoyomon; Raukura Turei; Raven Chacon com Iggor Cavalera & Laima Leyton; Rebeca Carapiá; Richianny Ratovo; Ruth Ige; Sadikou Oukpedjo; Sallisa Rosa; Sara Sejin Chang (Sara van der Heide); Sérgio Soarez; Sertão Negro; Sharon Hayes; Shuvinai Ashoona; Simnikiwe Buhlungu; Song Dong; Suchitra Mattai; Tanka Fonta; Thania Petersen; Theo Eshetu; Théodore Diouf; Theresah Ankomah; Trương Công Tùng; Tuần Andrew Nguyễn; Vilanismo; Werewere Liking; Wolfgang Tillmans; Zózimo Bulbul.
Five artists will participate in the Bienial’s Tributaries programme in Casa do Povo, São Paulo, curated by Benjamin Seroussi and Daniel Blanga Gubbay: Alexandre Paulikevitch; Boxe Autônomo; Dorothée Munyaneza; Marcelo Evelin; MEXA.
The exhibition will centre around the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, its tradition venue in São Paulo’s Ibiraquera Park, from 6 September 2025–11 January 2026.
