Titled Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice, the 36th edition of the Bienal de São Paulo takes its cue from Afrobrazilian poet Conceição Evaristo’s enigmatic poem Da calma e do silêncio (Of calm and silence).
The main idea behind this Biennial is to think of "humanity" not as something fixed, but as something that is practiced: a way of living and relating to others. The curators use the image of an estuary, a place where different rivers meet and mix, as a symbol. Just like an estuary blends different waters, Brazil’s history is full of diverse encounters. The Bienal suggests that real humanity happens when we listen carefully and find ways to live together, even when we come from very different places or perspectives. The exhibition is free of charge, features works by 125 artists and collectives, and remains open until January 2026.
Two distinguished British artists are participating: Sir Frank Bowling, the first Black artist elected to the Royal Academy of Arts, has paintings displayed in all floors of the building. The works reflect key moments of his personal history and artistic evolution, and some have been painted exclusively for this Biennial. British photographer of Nigerian descent, Akinbode Akinbiyi was selected through the Biennials Connect Grant to take a six-week residency in São Paulo in early 2025. His poetic images of São Paulo’s urban life are exhibited in gigantic photo enlargements.
Sir Frank Bowling
Born in British Guiana in 1934, Sir Frank Bowling is a pivotal figure in post-war British art and the first Black artist elected to the Royal Academy of Arts. His six-decade career has been defined by a relentless reimagining of abstract painting, marked by scale, material experimentation, and deep engagement with colour. From his iconic “Map Paintings” of the 1960s–70s to the tactile, poured and collaged surfaces of his later work, Bowling treats the canvas as both landscape and archive. His art integrates gels, metallic pigments, fabric, and found objects, negotiating memory, process, and poetics. His participation in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo with eight paintings reflects key moments of his personal history and artistic evolution. These works reaffirm the enduring poetic and theoretical significance of Black artists in postmodernism and their central role in reshaping the global art narrative.
Akinbode Akinbiyi
Akinbode Akinbiyi is a British photographer of Nigerian descent, born in Oxford in 1946 and based in Berlin since the 1990s. Raised between England and Lagos, he became a self-taught photographer in 1972 and is renowned for documenting African megacities like Lagos, Cairo, Kinshasa, and Dakar. His work captures everyday life with poetic black-and-white images that reflect urban complexity, colonial history, and human rituals. Using a Rolleiflex camera, he has slow, reflective approach, focusing on unnoticed details and the social fabric of cities. Akinbiyi’s photography has been featured in major exhibitions such as Documenta 14 and MoMA’s New Photography 2023.
For the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, Akinbiyi undertook a six-week residency in early 2025, creating a new body of work centered on São Paulo’s urban life. He explored the Casa do Povo and Bom Retiro neighborhood, highlighting their cultural diversity and immigrant histories. His project emphasizes human connections and the dynamics of coexistence and resistance.
Akinbode Akinbiyi’s work in São Paulo is supported by the British Council through its Biennials Connect Grant.