Curatorial Committee Announced for the 2027 Bogotá Biennial

The Bogotá International Art and City Biennial will return for its second edition in September 2027, following its inaugural edition in 2025, which mobilised more than three million people around the visual arts and the appropriation of public space.

The public initiative is led by the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá through the Secretariat of Culture, Recreation and Sports. Directed by Juan Ricardo Rincón Gaviria, BOG27 will feature a curatorial committee comprising Magalí Arriola and José Esparza Chong Cuy as chief curators; María Paula Bastidas and Juliana Steiner Fraser as associate curators; and Elkin Rubiano as curator of public programmes and outreach.

The curatorial focus of BOG27 uses the city as a stage where natural and built environments become hosts of stories that highlight relationships between human species. São Paulo, Brazil, will be the guest city of honour, further strengthening Ibero-American cooperation around art and culture.

“We are holding this Biennial not only because it was a shared dream for many people, but also because we recognise the value of art and the power of culture to help us understand each other even amidst polarisation,” said Santiago Trujillo, Bogotá’s Secretary of Culture, Recreation and Sports. “We will continue to strive to ensure that Bogotá has a Biennial that projects us into the future and allows us to connect with other cities in the hemisphere.”

BOG27 Curatorial Committee

The curatorial committee will be responsible for evaluating, discussing, guiding and implementing the development of the Biennial’s artistic content. Its work includes conceptualising and developing the curatorial theme and supporting artistic projects through all stages.

Magalí Arriola, chief curator

Mexican writer and independent curator. She was director of the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City from 2019 to 2025 and curator of the Mexican Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019.

José Esparza Chong Cuy, chief curator

Mexican curator and architect. He has served as executive director and chief curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York since 2018. He was curator of the Kosovo Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2016.

Juan Ricardo Rincón Gaviria, director

Director of the Bogotá International Art and City Biennial since 2025. He is the founder of Taller Paralelo Arquitectos and Feria del Millón, and chief curator of Voltaje Salón de Arte y Tecnología.

María Paula Bastidas, associate curator

Colombian curator and researcher whose work focuses on contemporary art, identity, memory and local knowledge.

Juliana Steiner Fraser, associate curator

Colombian curator and researcher. She co-founded Espacio Odeón in Bogotá and recently curated Ecotono: Chagras, Payaos, Camellones for Common Ground, an international curatorial initiative of CHRA and Bard College’s Fisher Center LAB.

Elkin Rubiano, curator of public programmes and outreach

Director of Humanities and Literary Studies at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University. His work encompasses aesthetic theory, cultural criticism and the relationships between art, the city and public space.