Arts and Minds

In the calendar of anniversaries, somewhere between Christmas (an annual) and Halley's comet (a demisesquicentennial), there is the biennial. Held in about 60 cities throughout the world, the art biennial (or biennale, to give it the oft-preferred Italian name) affords local and invited international artists a chance to meet and show off their creations, and provides art lovers with an opportunity to see lots of new work by undiscovered talent. Since about 85% of biennials are government-initiated, there's often a strong community aspect to these events. Instead of disappearing after the opening party, artists often stay on to give workshops and...