By Eva McGovern

The 53rd Venice Biennale, ‘Making Worlds’, directed by Daniel Birnbaum and the Asian Pavilions.

By Eva McGovern

Arresting in its criticality and positing of the most urgent questions surrounding art production and public engagement, the Jakarta biennale is a much needed respite for jaded art tourists. Its curatorial commitment, as well as sheer production has a stirring potency for multiple audiences. And its strategy to reclaim public spaces and cultural experiences in a city with a of population of 9 million people is without a doubt, a formidable self appointed challenge. Mission statements that look at the local, regional and international through the work of artists under 40, and all with a connection to Southeast Asia makes, for once, makes perfect sense as a remit, both conceptually and in its display