Art Encounters 2025 Biennial – Conflicts and Echoes. Artists from Eastern Europe and South America in Timisoara / photo gallery

Marina Abramović, Oscar Murillo, Geta Brătescu, Pavel Brăila and dozens of other Romanian and foreign artists are included in this year’s edition of Art Encounters Biennial. With the theme “Bounding Histories – Whispering Tales”, the event opens on May 30 in three emblematic spaces in Timișoara.

Curated by Ana Janevski (MoMA New York) and Tevž Logar (independent curator), the sixth edition takes place at the Garrison Command, FABER and the Art Encounters Foundation exhibition space until July 13.

More than 100 works, including eight created especially for the event, outline a wide-ranging meditation on history, memory and echo. It’s remarkable how art reverberates and how artists respond to particular contexts.
Bienala Art Encounters proposes a fluid choreography between past and present, between visible and forgotten voices, between collective traumas and emerging narratives of resilience.

More than 60 artists are brought together to express the history of a region and its iconic buildings. The two curators, familiar with Eastern art and culture, say they were “immediately fascinated by the history of Timișoara”. So much so that they decided it should be included in the project, without omitting what is happening in Ukraine and Gaza. They drew a parallel between the history of the place and the present, integrating each of the buildings’ identities.

Thus an echo is created with the works talking about important events of our time. Tevž Logar says: “‘Whispering Tales’ is something that should stimulate us. We want to show the potential of art in relation to socio-political upheavals”.

Photo: Exhibition in the Garrison Headquarters; photo credit: curatorial

The concept of echo has guided the curatorial and artistic approach of this edition, reflecting on the relationships that the works of local and international artists build with each other, with the spaces in Timișoara and with the public. The echo functions as metaphor and method, as an agent of change and creativity, a signal of a connection, not a verdict, and at the same time the repetition and distorted response of a sound.

First weekend events

The official opening takes place on May 30 at 17:00 at the Garrison Headquarters, followed by guided tours, performances and an outdoor party.

Artiști invitați în Bienala Art Encounters 2025 sunt: Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Ana Adam, Alle Dicu, Marina Abramović & Ulay, Bora Baboçi, Maja Bajević, Mona Benyamin, Željka Blakšić, Pavel Brăila, Geta Brătescu, Brief Histories (Isak Berbic, Fawz Kabra), Cian Dayrit, Christine Cizmaș. Ana Diović, Abramović, Cian Dayrit, Christine Cizmaș, Marieta Chirulescu, Clément Cogitore, Lorena Cocioni, Moriah Evans, Simone Forti, Jošt Franko, Robert Gabris, Alicia Mihai Gazcue, Ladislava Gažiová, Jean Genet, Liam Gillick & Anton Vidokle, Karpo Godina, Maria Guțu, Petrit Halilaj, Veronika Hapchenko, Sky Hopinka, Loredana Ilie, Siniša Ilić, Joan Jonas, Hassan Khan, Dana Kavelina, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Kapwani Kiwanga, Ana Kun, David Maljković, Jumana Manna, Teresa Margolles, Silvia Moldovan, Alban Muja, Oscar Murillo, Andrei Nacu, Marina Naprushkina, Eduardo Navarro, Christian Nyampeta, Mila Panić, Manuel Pelmuș, Gavril Pop, Raluca Popa, Ghenadie Popescu, The Resurrection Committee (Ovidiu Țichindeleanu, Raluca Voinea), Larissa Sansour, Ștefan Sava, Selma Selman, Larisa Sitar, Bojan Stojčić, ŠKART, Nora Turato, Johanna Unzueta, Mark Verlan, Cecilia Vicuña, Rosario Zorraquin.
Performances by Manuel Pelmuș and Christina Cizmaș are also scheduled.

On May 31, there will be guided tours at FABER (11:00 – 13:00) and Art Encounters Foundation (14:30 – 15:30), a program of visits to the exhibition from the complementary platform of the biennial “Publicul Privat” at Jecza Gallery, critical talks such as RAD Talk: Romania’s Role Within the Global Context (17:00 – 18:30, Garnizoană) and guided tours with the curators of Stefan Bertalan’s In the Rhythm of the World (ISHO Office 1) and There Were Times I Wanted to Change the World (Paltim).

An open-air party takes place in the evening at the Garrison Headquarters with DJs and local musicians.

On June 1, there will be: a guided historical tour of Timișoara (11:00 – 12:00), a picnic and activities for children in the garden of the Garrison Command (12:00 – 18:00), the launch of the biennial catalog (13:00 – 14:00), followed by the launch of the book “How we understand contemporary art”, guided tours in all three spaces, performances and artistic interventions.

Details can be found on artencounters.ro. Admission to all Art Encounters exhibitions and events is free.