A World of Endless Promise: manifesto of fragility

The artists taking part in the 16th Lyon Biennale bring diverse approaches to the focal theme of fragility that represent varied understandings of our current state of global uncertainty. The Biennale appeals to a broad coalition of international artists to share in building a nuanced patchwork of narratives illuminating moments of resilience in the face of social, political and environmental upheaval The artists gathered around the Biennale embody various faces of fragility, some in the issues they tackle, and others in the materials they use. What their works have in common is the potential to inform our thinking about generative paths of resistance.

manifesto of fragility emphasizes the importance of individual encounters in gaining insight into the circumstances that shape our contemporary realities. Many of the artists share an awareness of the architectural and historical specificities of their surroundings. This sensitivity allows for rigorous points of contact between coexisting identities, communities and histories that can activate dynamic societal changes. Seeking collaborative actions that can bridge divides and build communal responses to global conditions, the 16th Lyon Biennale engages an expansive network of artists practicing in cities across the globe, including: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Basel, Beirut, Berlin, Bogota, Brussels, Cape Town, Casablanca, Copenhagen, Cork, Dhaka, Dubai, Ghent, Guadalajara, Helsinki, Jeddah, Lagos, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Lyon, Madrid, Marrakesh, Marseille, New York, Oslo, Paris, Riga, Riyadh, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Toulon, Vienna.

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The 16th Lyon Biennale: manifesto of fragility positions fragility at the heart of a generative form of resistance that is emboldened by the past, responsive to the present and primed for the future. Conceived as a collective statement, authored through word, image, sound and movement, it calls on a community of resilient voices to draft a manifesto for a world that is blamelessly fragile. The Biennale is structured around three distinct yet inter-connected layers, where fragility and resistance are explored through the lens of the individual, the city, and the world respectively.

A World of Endless Promise assembles a host of creative practices by 88 artists from 39 countries that are spread across twelve locations spanning several centuries of Lyon’s rich history. Whether through the issues they tackle, or the materials they use, these artists’ diverse approaches represent varied understandings of our current state of global uncertainty and have the potential to inform our thinking about generative paths of resistance. In recognizing that artists, past and present, are often among the most vulnerable voices in our societies, the exhibition also brings together works of art and objects spanning millennia that bare their scars and deformities, share forgotten accounts of turmoil, and draw attention to the indelible traces of time. And it is exactly there, at the heart of their fragility, that the promise of a truly changed world begins.