Manifesta, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art, rescheduled its opening for October 9th due to a general strike in Spain. Manifesta is a nomadic art event that changes its location every two years and this year, the 8th edition of the biennial will take place in Spain. Respecting the strike and pushing back the opening event should allow visitors to make it to Spain on time and, thinking of the empty halls that welcomed Art Cologne visitors earlier this year (the volcanic ash got in the way of most flights) makes the decision seem like a very good idea.
Kicking off on October 9 and running for a period of 100 days, Manifesta 8 will be taking place in historical buildings, museums, unconventional spaces, archaeological sites and other suggestive settings in the ancient cities of Murcia and Cartagena.
Since its first edition 15 years ago, Manifesta has been concerned with the idea of breaking down barriers, crossing borders and building bridges and this year, special focus is being placed on the dialogue between Europe and northern Africa.
One of the innovations arising from Manifesta 8 is based on the concept of collective curating, and the introduction of an artistic team made up of three groups of curators, composed of Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (Egypt), Chamber of Public Secrets (Scandinavia and the Middle East) and tranzit.org (Central Europe), responsible for both the thematic approach and the selection of artists. Manifesta 8 also features artists coming from Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Ghana, Morocco and other countries, often working on new collaborative projects with their colleagues from Europe and the Middle East.
