Press Section

The Climate Biennial closes its first edition, consolidating a new model of culture that is open, free, participatory and connected to the territory. From 12 June to 18 September, the event brought together 47 artists, 106 invited voices and 154 organisations, while activating up to 13 exhibition spaces across the Asturian region. The first edition has consolidated a network of collaborations between culture, industry, institutions and citizens, while leaving behind tools and processes that can be transferred to future cultural projects.

The closing event of the 1st Bienal Climática, held on 15 September at Avilés City Hall, brought together Jordi Martí, Secretary of State for Culture; Hugo Morán, Secretary of State at MITECO; Susana Madera, Director General for the Environment of the Principality of Asturias; Mariví Monteserín, Mayor of Avilés; and Carlos Mataix, President of the Atelier itd Foundation. The event highlighted the need to strengthen collaboration between institutions, scientific knowledge, businesses, culture and citizens in order to address the ecological transition.

The Climate Biennial is entering its final stretch with a programme addressing issues such as climate activism, the relationship between gender and democracy, and the role of climate shelters. Highlights include Climate Activism and Struggle: Three Generations of Activists in Dialogue, an intergenerational meeting to share experiences and perspectives on the climate movement; The Gender of Democracy, by Cecilia Barriga, exploring the relationship between gender, democracy and participation; and a session dedicated to climate shelters as spaces for care, participation and collective response, featuring Yayo Herrero and Miguel González Suela, Undersecretary of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). Another key highlight of this final stretch has been Towards a Regenerative Culture, a gathering bringing together representatives of international biennials, thought festivals and RedACTS.

Over 4,500 participants in the public programme’s activities since its inauguration on 11 June. Over 40 artists and 13 exhibition spaces invite you to discover the city until 20 September.

The Climate Biennial officially opened today in Avilés with an institutional ceremony marking the beginning of a programme that, under the motto Rehearsing the Unexpected, will transform the city and its surroundings into a cultural landmark until 20 September. The official opening took place this morning at Ferrera Park in Avilés and was attended by Ernest Urtasun, Minister of Culture; Miguel González Suela, Undersecretary of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Maite Verdú Martínez, Director-General for Urban Agenda and Architecture at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda; Jordi Martí Grau, Secretary of State for Culture; Vanessa Gutiérrez, Regional Minister for Culture, Language Policy and Sport of the Principality of Asturias; and Mariví Monteserín, Mayor of Avilés. Also in attendance were Miguel Soberón, Director of Atelier itd, Miguel Soberón and Amanda Masha Caminals, Artistic Director of the Climate Biennial.

Under the title Rehearsing the Unexpected, more than 40 local, national and international artists will be presented.

The full programme is now available. Under the title Rehearsing the Unexpected, the Biennial will bring together more than 40 artists across 13 exhibition venues from 12 June to 20 September, alongside over 60 activities organised around three thematic strands.

Asturias will host the 1 st edition of the Climate Biennial: art, industry and territory, from June 12 to September 20

The document includes, among other contents, the critical cartography developed by the Asturian artist Elisa Cuesta, a tool for reading the territory that has served as the basis for the development of the exhibition and public programme. Altogether, the publication works as a conceptual and practical framework from which to imagine, through culture, art, and landscape, fairer and more inhabitable ways of life.