The Melbourne International Biennial 1999 was a cultural initiative of the City of Melbourne in partnership with Arts Victoria, the Victoria Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Ian Potter Museum of Art, and The University of Melbourne. Originally called "Melbourne Arts International", the event later changed name once the University of Melbourne was able to confirm the involvement of Frances Lindsay and Juliana Enberg, which resulted in a successful fund-raising campaign that increased the initial budget of $1 million.[1] The first edition, curated by Engberg and organized by Bala Starr was titled "Signs of Life", and ran from 14 May through 27 June 1999. Despite having promising figures (the exhibition was visited by 21,000 people) and the confirmation of Enberg as artistic director, the institutions attached to the project eventually pulled out and the Melbourne Biennial was discontinued after only one edition.

According to Enberg, "[Signs of Life was designed to exhibit] a very human set of projects, as should be the case as we leave the twentieth century and begin to engage with the next millennial frontier." The artists invited to the main exhibition were:

Following a method deployed by other art biennials like Venice Biennale and São Paulo Art Biennial, the Melbourne Biennale featured 11 national pavilions.

Literature

Juliana Engberg, Signs of Life, exhibition catalogue published by the City of Melbourne. ISBN 0-646-37330-7

References


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