Seventeenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This paper offers a critical review of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the holding of representative Chinese biennials and how the exhibition organizers deal with the crisis. The outbreak of the COVID-19 has greatly influenced our lives. The working-from-home mode has been widely adopted and many offline events have transformed into online events. Still, some activities are hard to resume as usual, such as the biennials. Many of them have been postponed or moved to the virtual exhibition. Nonetheless, biennial organizers in China have managed to launch the biennials as scheduled. The successful holding of the large-scale events should be first attributed to how China has adopted the strictest epidemic control measures. Biennial organizers also need to deal with problems like the transportation of artworks, the need to reduce gathering, etc. They have managed to showcase high-quality exhibitions, accommodate many visitors, and expand the influence of the biennials. This paper adopts the case study method and reviews two biennials that have been successfully held, the 13th Shanghai Biennale and the 1st X Museum Triennial. By analyzing the organizing structure and curatorial practices behind them, we can learn from the Chinese biennials to conquer the new problems that emerged in the pandemic time. There is also the concern that since the Chinese government still insists on the zero-COVID policy, the holdings of the large-scale exhibitions still face the risk of being suspended at any time. It would be challenging for the Chinese biennials to adapt to such uncertainty.