Art

36th Bienal de São Paulo: Not All Travellers Walk Roads

Discover how the 36th Bienal de São Paulo blends migration, water metaphors, and 120 global artists in a four-month cultural voyage.

Por: Angela Leon Cervera
36th Bienal de São Paulo
Gervane de Paula Bom dia Sereia, 2021. Photo: Marcus Mesquita

The 36th Bienal de São Paulo arrives this September with a brave new compass. Curator Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung steers the exhibition under the banner Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice.


Inspired by Conceição Evaristo’s poem “Da calma e do silêncio,” the show listens to humanity in motion. Every artwork becomes a footstep, every gallery a temporary campfire.

 

Across four months, visitors can roam the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion for free. The extended run, from 6 September 2025 to 11 January 2026, widens access and learning opportunities

36th Bienal de São Paulo
Adama Delphine Fawundu An Offering at Kongo River, 2025. Photo: Adama Delphine Fawundu

How Will the 36th Bienal de São Paulo Flow Like a River?

Architects Gisele de Paula and Tiago Guimarães shaped the pavilion as an estuary in motion.

 

  • Sinuous margins guide gentle detours.

  • Lightweight structures suggest driftwood carried by tides.

  • “Emptiness acts as force,” the duo notes, inviting pauses and deep listening.

Their design mirrors the Bienal’s thesis: travel is never straight; it meanders, merges, and resurfaces renewed.

36th Bienal de São Paulo
Antonio Társis Vista da instalação Storm in a Teacup, Carlos/Ishikawa, Londres (20 de setembro – 19 de outubro de 2024). Photo: Damian Griffiths
36th Bienal de São Paulo
Forensic Architecture Cloud Studies, 2021. Photo: Michael Pollard

What Stories Do the Migratory Paths Reveal?

Ndikung’s team mapped artists the way ornithologists track birds. They studied the red-tailed hawk, the ruff, and the Arctic tern, then let those sky-roads dictate curatorial arcs.


Bullets of meaning wash ashore:

 

  • Water as teacher. Rivers like the Wouri, Amazon, and Hudson anchor symbolic routes.

  • Borders dissolved. Selection sidesteps nation-states, favoring shared currents of memory.

  • Continuous change. Like migrating flocks, the Bienal shifts space, time, and perspective with each visitor’s path.

Who Are the Voices Behind “Not All Travellers Walk Roads”?

A 120-strong cohort brings every medium from sound to sculpture. Highlights include:

 

  1. Frank Bowling and Firelei Báez—painterly cartographers of diaspora.

  2. Forensic Architecture—data detectives exposing hidden geographies.

  3. Otobong Nkanga and Precious Okoyomon—artists who braid ecology with care.

A tributaries program at Casa do Povo broadens the delta with five additional performers and collectives.

36th Bienal de São Paulo
Carla Gueye Sisters and I, 2023. Photo: Ibra Wane

The 36th Bienal de São Paulo invites us to travel without maps. Follow birdlines, sip river metaphors, and meet art that never stands still. Pack light; curiosity is enough.

Migration Station: Quick Queries

  • When does the Bienal open? 6 September 2025. It closes on 11 January 2026.
  • Where is it held? Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, Ibirapuera Park, Gate 3, São Paulo, Brazil.
  • Is admission really free? Yes. The Fundação Bienal maintains free entry for all visitors.
  • How many artists participate? About 120 artists plus five Tributaries participants.
  • What sets this edition apart? A river-inspired layout, bird-guided curation, and an extended four-month run.

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