BIENNALE OF SYDNEY 2026: “HISTORY VERSUS MEMORY”
Rememory, as coined by Toni Morrison in her novel Beloved is the theme and title for the 25th edition of the Biennale of Sydney, which will take place from March 17 until June 17, 2026. Expanding from the understanding of memory as information retention with the passing of time, rememory works in the dark, from the residues and amputations of the past. In Morrison’s own context and research, it relates to chronicling African American history and how it upturns what is canonised as American history.
“History versus memory, and memory versus memorylessness. Rememory as in recollecting and remembering as in reassembling the members of the body, the family, the population of the past”, are the words of Toni Morrison. Approximating this concept alongside the work of contemporary cultural practitioners—who engage with topics that have little to no benchmarks, precedents, and models—rememory thus becomes an active present.
The exhibition collaborates with artists and cultural workers who explore the collateral damage and side effects of historic events. Abandoning typical and linear storytelling, in which history and memories are presented through objectification, rememory is how we become subjects and storytellers of our collective present through events of the past.
In this upcoming edition of the Biennale, the exhibition and participating artists gather to present a polyphonic rememory, inspired by Sydney and the broader region. Works in the Biennale reflect on the region’s communities, Aboriginal peoples, and diasporas in relation to historic events. A call to shed known ‘stories’ about the place, the edition is akin to a patchwork in which artists have been invited to reflect on their own topoi, while also engaging with local communities, to highlight their histories of migration, exile, and sense of belonging. This is complemented by a specialised children and youth program that circulates these ‘rememories’ so as to retain them intergenerationally.
While scholarships and archives are extremely critical in unlearning and decoding the present, the exhibition supplants such rigour with assemblages of self-authorship and rememory, as proposed by Morrison and like-minded peers. The hope is to develop new knowledge that centres on unrecognised voices through non-canonical methods and embodied forms. Additionally, it is a proposition for a world of proximities through affect, and modalities of memory making.
25th Biennale of Sydney (2026) first wave of exhibiting artists:
Abdul Abdullah (Australia / Thailand), Ángel Poyón (Maya Kaqchikel, Guatemala), Angélica Serech (Maya Kaqchikel, Guatemala), Bouchra Khalili (Morocco / Austria), CAMP (India), Cannupa Hanska Luger (Standing Rock Indian Reservation, North Dakota / New Mexico, USA), Carmen Glynn-Braun (Kaytetye, Arrernte, Anmatyerr, Australia), Chang En Man (Paiwan, Taiwan), Chen Chieh-jen (Taiwan R.O.C.), Daisy Quezada Ureña (USA), Decolonizing Art Architecture Project (DAAR) (Palestine), Deirdre O’Mahony (Ireland), Dennis Golding (Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay, Australia), Dread Scott (USA), Edgar Calel (Kaqchikel, Guatemala), Elverina Johnson (Yarrabah, Australia), Ema Shin (Japan / Australia), Fernando Poyón (Maya Kaqchikel, Guatemala), Frank Young & The Kulata Tjuta Project (Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, Australia), Gabriel Chaile (Argentina / Lisbon), Gunybi Ganambarr (Yolŋu (Ŋaymil) people, Australia), John Harvey (Kalaw Kawaw Ya/Saibai Island, Torres Strait, Australia) & Walter Waia (Kalaw Kawaw Ya/Saibai Island, Torres, Strait, Australia), John Prince Siddon (Walmajarri, Australia), Kapwani Kiwanga (Canada / France), Lamia Joreige (Lebanon), Marian Abboud (Australia), Maritea Dæhlin (Norway / Mexico), Merilyn Fairskye (Australia) & Michiel Dolk (Netherlands / Australia), Michael Rakowitz (USA), Nancy Yukuwal McDinny (Garrwa / Yanyuwa, Australia), Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo, USA), Tania Willard (Secwepemcúlecw, Canada), Taysir Batniji (Gaza, Palestine / France), Tuan Andrew Nguyen (Vietnam), Warraba Weatherall (Kamilaroi, Australia), Wendy Hubert (Yindjibarndi Country, Australia), Yaritji Young (Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, Australia).
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