Argentinian curator Ferran Barenblit has been appointed chief curator of the 16th Shanghai Biennale, which is set to open in November 2027 at the Power Station of Art (PSA). 

Born in 1968 in Buenos Aires and now based in Barcelona, Barenblit brings more than three decades of curatorial and leadership experience to the role. After working as a curatorial assistant at New York’s New Museum (1994–96), he relocated to Spain to serve as director of the Centre d’Arts Santa Mònica in Barcelona (2002–08). In 2008, he became the founding director of the Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo in Madrid, where he organized exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and publications. From 2015 to 2021, he helmed the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, overseeing the institution’s expansion and strengthening its collection and international partnerships. Most recently, he was chief curator of the 16th Cuenca Biennial in Ecuador (2023–24).

Building on his engagement with the sociopolitical and cultural conditions that subtly define our contemporary existence, Barenblit will “rethink and break through the traditional thematic curation model of biennales, returning art to a resilient state of oscillation,” according to PSA’s press release.

In a statement, Barenblit noted, “We live in a world composed of images, sounds, and systems of attention that are part of our experience, but often remain invisible precisely because they are so close to us. The 16th Shanghai Biennale should belong fully to the field of contemporary art without closing itself inside it. It should be demanding and legible, accessible and complex, capable of addressing broad publics while preserving art’s power to resist simplification.”

Joyce Lee is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.