Liverpool Biennial has revealed the theme and participating artists for its 12th edition.
The UK's largest free festival of contemporary visual art will be returning to the city from June 10 to September 17 2023, which is to be its 25th anniversary year. The event will be titled 'uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things' and will be curated by Khanyisile Mbongwa with director Sam Lackey and the Liverpool Biennial team.
The festival will examine the thread between catastrophe and aliveness, asking how different ways of living and being are possible. In the isiZulu language, 'uMoya' means 'spirit, breath, air, climate and wind'.
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A range of new commissions and existing artworks will be unveiled across the city at galleries including the Bluecoat, FACT Liverpool, Open Eye Gallery, Tate Liverpool and Victoria Gallery and Museum. Other unexpected spaces will be announced in spring 2023.
The event will aim to address the history and temperament of Liverpool in a call for ancestral and indigenous forms of knowledge. More than 30 artists and collectives will take part in the 12th edition of the Liverpool Biennial, including Albert Ibokwe Khoza, Brook Andrew, Eleng Luluan, Julien Creuzet, Nicholas Galanin, Raisa Kabir and Torkwase Dyson.
Sam Lackey, director of Liverpool Biennial, said: "I am excited to bring the spirit of uMoya to the city of Liverpool for our 12th edition in 2023, our 25th anniversary year. At this moment of global instability, the vision and experience of our curator, Khanyisile Mbongwa brings a perspective of historic acknowledgement that ultimately proposes alternative futures for our world.
"The geographical breadth of artists will provide new perspectives on our city that acknowledge its past and continued efforts on the world and suggests new modes of repair, freedom and joy. We look forward to working with our partners across the city to deliver the festival, bringing 14 weeks of engaging visual arts programming to regional, national and international visitors."
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