Kitty Scott Appointed Chief Curator of the 15th Shanghai Biennale

November 6, 2024, Shanghai, China

The Office of the Shanghai Biennale is pleased to announce that after careful consideration of numerous candidates by the Power Station of Art Academic Committee, Kitty Scott has been selected to work as the Chief Curator for the 15th Shanghai Biennale. Scott will work with a team of collaborators, to be announced soon. Titled as “Does the flower hear the bee?,” the 15th Shanghai Biennale will open on November 8, 2025 and conclude on March 31, 2026, and will take place in the Power Station of Art (PSA). As China’s longest running contemporary art biennale, the Shanghai Biennale is one of the most influential art events in Asia and the world.

“We have long known now that when bees gather, they communicate and share knowledge with each other. We are only just recognizing that this network of communication extends even further,” says Scott. “It turns out that flowers too are gathering information, and we now appreciate that they ‘hear’ the vibration of honeybee wings, which causes them to secrete a sweeter nectar in their presence.” The 15th Shanghai Biennale seeks to develop new sorts of sensorial communication between artwork, visitor and environment. The exhibition aims to work at the intersection of differing models of intelligence, human and non-human, and to learn from both nature and culture. Artworks provide us with a privileged space for doing so in an embodied and interconnected way, forming stronger bonds within and between communities and in harmony with the “more-than-human world.” At the 15th Shanghai Biennale, each viewer might recognize, like the flower, that so much depends on hearing the bee.

Shanghai offers a truly unique setting for the ideas central to this exhibition. As a critical site for the articulation of a global modernity from at least the mid-19th century forward, it has long been an urban space defined by the meeting of distinct if sometimes clashing cultures, by new spaces of sociality and by emergent forms of being together. Today, it continues to be an urban setting that defines new forms of belonging, at once rich in history and open to the future. The 15th Shanghai Biennale aims to respond to and draw inspiration from this unique setting.

About Kitty Scott

Kitty Scott is a curator and writer. She is currently Strategic Director at Shorefast and Fogo Island Arts. Former Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, she has also served as the Carol and Morton Rapp Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Director of Visual Arts at The Banff Centre, Chief Curator at Serpentine, and Curator of Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada. She has curated exhibitions of artists such as Francis Alÿs, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Paul Chan, Peter Doig, Geoffrey Farmer, Theaster Gates, Brian Jungen, Ken Lum, Gordon Matta-Clark, Silke Otto-Knapp, Ron Terada, and Jin-me Yoon. She co-curated Liverpool Biennial (2018), presented Geoffrey Farmer’s project at the Canada Pavilion for the 57th Venice Biennale (2017) and was an agent for dOCUMENTA (13) (2012). Scott serves on the CiMAM Board.

About the Shanghai Biennale

Launched in 1996, the Shanghai Biennale is not only the first international biennial of contemporary art in mainland China but also one of the most influential art events in Asia. In 2012, the Power Station of Art became the organizer and permanent venue of the Shanghai Biennale. From ‘Open Space’ in 1996, to ‘Inheritance and Exploration’ in 1998, ‘Spirit of Shanghai’ in 2000, ‘Urban Creation’ in 2002, ‘Techniques of the Visible’ in 2004, ‘Hyper Design’ in 2006, ‘Translocalmotion’ in 2008, ‘Rehearsal’ in 2010, ‘Reactivation’ in 2012, ‘Social Factory’ in 2014, ‘Why Not Ask Again’ in 2016, ‘Proregress’ in 2018, ‘Bodies of Water’ in 2020, and ‘Cosmos Cinema’ in 2023, the Biennale has always maintained Shanghai as its primary locus, upholding the mission of supporting academic and cultural innovation, while continuously tracking social evolution and trends in knowledge production in a global context with an open view. Gathering in Shanghai every two years, the Biennale has also become a large-scale platform for the international presence and exchange of contemporary art.

About the Shanghai Biennale City Projects

As a unique urban identity and cultural trademark, the Shanghai Biennale has long been committed to enabling active dialogues between contemporary art and the booming city of Shanghai. First launched in 2012, the Biennale’s City Projects interact with public spaces such as exhibition pavilions, cinemas, and cultural centers, mobilizing local actors to explore the regional context through shows, screenings, field surveys, and workshops. This program aims to extend the Biennale beyond the white cube and establish a closer relationship with the city’s residents and its cultural ecology.

About the Power Station of Art (PSA)

Established on Oct 1, 2012, the Power Station of Art (PSA) is the first state-run contemporary art museum in mainland China. It is also home to the Shanghai Biennale. Renovated from the former Nanshi Power Plant, PSA was once the Pavilion of Future during the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Having borne witness to Shanghai’s transformation from the industrial age to the IT era, the museum has provided rich inspiration for artists with its raw architecture features. As a central hub for Shanghai’s booming urban culture, PSA is committed to innovation and progress as keys to its long-term vitality. The museum aims to provide an interface for the public to come into contact with and appreciate contemporary art, to break down the barrier between life and art, and to promote cooperation and knowledge production across diverse fields of arts and culture.

Press Kit for 15th Shanghai Biennale:

https://www.jianguoyun.com/p/DQCb9w4Q6L-YBhiosN0FIAA

Press Contact: media@powerstationofart.com