People’s Biennial 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). This exhibition questions the often exclusionary and insular process of selecting art that has at times turned exhibition spaces into privileged havens detached from the realities of everyday life.
People’s Biennial 2010: A Guide to America’s Most Amazing Artists chronicles the curatorial process of curators Harrell Fletcher's and Jens Hoffmann's research for the exhibition. The publication includes a conversation between the curators, journalistic entries from the participating venues' staff, statements from each of the selected artists; and extensive photographic documentation of the exhibition organization process, community-based events, selected artwork, and the resulting exhibition.
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit presents People’s Biennial from September 12, 2014 - January 4, 2015. The exhibition follows the ICI tour of People’s Biennial 2010, curated by Jens Hoffman and Harrell Fletcher, which drew attention to artistic practices in five diverse non-art center geographical regions in the United States. People’s Biennial 2014 will once again highlight artists that work largely outside of the mainstream art market.
Fletcher, Harrell and Hoffmann, Jens, People's Biennial 2010, Independent Curators International (ICI), New York, 2011. 136 pages. 9.5 x 6.3 in., hardcover. ISBN: 978-0-916365-83-7.
Essays by Jens Hoffmann, Harrell Fletcher, Kristan Kennedy, Mary Maxon, Steven Matijcio, Cassandra Coblentz, and Matthew Seamus Callinan.
