INDEPENDENT CURATORS INTERNATIONAL exhibitions

People’s Biennial

People’s Biennial is an exhibition that examines the work of artists who operate outside the sanctioned mainstream art world. As such it recognizes a wide array of artistic expression present in many communities across the United States. Working in cities that are not considered the primary art capitals, the 36 artists in this exhibition present significant contemporary work ranging from documentary photographs of military life in the heartland, to video works focusing on the biological activity in urban ecosystems, and complex, minute marble-like sculptures carved out of soap bars. In covering even the little-known, the overlooked, the marginalized, and the excluded, the exhibition represents a real snapshot of creative practice in America today.

People’s Biennial also proposes an alternative to the standard contemporary art biennial, which mostly focuses on art from a few select cities (New York, Los Angeles, occasionally Chicago, Miami or San Francisco). It questions the often exclusionary and insular process of selecting art that has at times turned the spaces where art is exhibited into privileged havens seemingly detached from the realities of everyday life.

The exhibition is the result of a year of research into the creative communities of five American cities: Portland, Oregon; Rapid City, South Dakota; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Haverford, Pennsylvania. In each place, the curators collaborated with an art institution and participated in a series of public events and open-calls, meeting hundreds of artists, which led to the selection of the works on view.

Exhibition Updates

May 8, 2012 Ellen Lesperance solo booth at Frieze New York Read more »

April 17, 2012 Biennials, Triennials, and Annuals: The State of the Art Read more »

February 3, 2012 ROBERTA FALLON Covers the Haverford opening For the Philadelphia Daily News Read more »

January 31, 2012 Images from the Haverford opening Read more »

October 25, 2011 Images from People’s Biennial at SMoCA are now up on ICI’s flickr Read more »

October 19, 2011 Arizona FOOTHILLS Magazine covers People’s Biennial Read more »

October 5, 2011 George Scheer from Elsewhere Collaborative’s Open Call for Kulturbahn Read more »

September 28, 2011 People’s Biennial Review by Artestica.org Read more »

September 22, 2011 People’s Biennial featured in FlashArt Read more »

August 30, 2011 People’s Gallery Summer Residencies Read more »

August 22, 2011 Paul Wilson at Axis Mundi Gallery Read more »

August 1, 2011 YES WEEKLY Speaks with SECCA Curator Steven Matijco About Local PB Artists Read more »

July 29, 2011 Maiza Hixson Curates a Project for Philadelphia’s New Performance Space Read more »

July 19, 2011 Joseph Perez’s Rise Project Pop Up Shop Read more »

June 24, 2011 Images from Jorge Figueroa Opening Night at the People’s Gallery Read more »

June 21, 2011 Jorge Figueroa Opening at the People’s Gallery Read more »

June 2, 2011 People’s own art/People’s unknown art Read more »

May 19, 2011 Art Practical reviews Bob Newland’s exhibition at the People’s Gallery Read more »

May 11, 2011 Opening Night: Bob Newland at the People’s Gallery Read more »

May 9, 2011 Why Aethetics Will End You Read more »

May 1, 2011 TransAmerican Connections: A People’s Biennial Panel Discussion Read more »

April 12, 2011 The People’s Gallery Opening Reviewed in Art in America Read more »

April 12, 2011 Laura Deutch to Participate in Ithaca College’s Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival Read more »

April 1, 2011 The Strong, Star-Bright Companions:a solo exhibition of new works by Ellen Lesperance Read more »

March 19, 2011 Opening Reception: The People’s Gallery Read more »

March 18, 2011 Black Hills Workshop highlights James Wallner’s People’s Biennial Read more »

February 22, 2011 Jens Hoffmann for Frieze Magazine Read more »

February 4, 2011 The People’s Biennial in this month’s Art Papers Read more »

February 4, 2011 Alexander Ferrando interviews co-curators Harrell Fletcher and Jens Hoffman for FlashArt Read more »

February 4, 2011 The Italian-based contemporary art magazine Cura covers the People’s Biennial Read more »

January 21, 2011 Rapid City Journal discusses the People’s Biennial Read more »

January 18, 2011 South Dakota’s Dakota Digest covers the People’s Biennial Read more »

January 1, 2011 People’s Biennial previewed in Flash Art Read more »

January 1, 2011 South Dakota Magazine reviews the People’s Biennial Read more »

October 20, 2010 Joseph Perez and People’s Biennial on 944 Magazine Read more »

October 17, 2010 Walkthrough at PICA Read more »

October 4, 2010 Portland Mercury: “Pocket of Accesibility” Read more »

October 1, 2010 OregonLive: “Art with an Attitude” Read more »

September 29, 2010 Portland Monthly Magazine contemplates People’s Biennial Read more »

September 27, 2010 Blog coverage of People’s Biennial on Coolhunting.com Read more »

September 23, 2010 People’s Biennial in The Portland Mercury Read more »

September 17, 2010 Interview in TBA’s Human Being Read more »

September 13, 2010 Willamette Week blog Read more »

September 8, 2010 Radio Interview Read more »

September 5, 2010 Artist Profiles: Pennsylvania Read more »

August 30, 2010 Artist Feature: Bernie Peterson Read more »

August 20, 2010 Check out PICA’s TBA Festival 2010 Read more »

August 3, 2010 Curators’ talk in North Carolina Read more »

July 6, 2010 Announcing the final list of People’s Biennial artists! Read more »

July 2, 2010 People’s Biennial Curators visit: Haverford Read more »

June 28, 2010 Philadelphia Live Arts Festival Blog Read more »

June 16, 2010 The Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery at Haverford College prepares for Harrell’s visit Read more »

May 20, 2010 People’s Biennial Curators visit: Winston-Salem Read more »

April 20, 2010 Radio Interview on 88.5 WFDD, Winston-Salem Read more »

April 10, 2010 Artforum’s 500 Words by Harrell Fletcher Read more »

April 8, 2010 People’s Biennial Curators visit: Rapid City Read more »

April 5, 2010 Dahl Mountain Culture Festival Magazine Read more »

April 1, 2010 NC artblog Read more »

March 10, 2010 People’s Biennial is creating dialogue in advance of opening Read more »

Related Events

Curator

Jens Hoffmann

Jens Hoffmann is Director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco. He has curated over three-dozen exhibitions since the late 1990s. He was Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London from 2003 to 2007. Hoffmann is an adjunct professor at the California College of the Arts, San Francisco, a guest professor at the Nuova Accademia de Belle Arti, Milan, and a faculty member at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He was the co-curator for the 12th Istanbul Biennial in fall 2011.

Harrell Fletcher

Harrell Fletcher is an artist who has worked collaboratively and individually on socially engaged, interdisciplinary projects for more than fifteen years; his work has been exhibited throughout the United States, and in Europe. He is a professor of art and social practice at portland state university in Portland, Oregon.

Touring Schedule

Booking Info

This exhibition is fully booked.