“I come from a place where art is omnipresent, so I can’t really remember my first encounter with it, as it was probably very unconscious. This is a very interesting question because I’m often asked about it, but I believe art entered my life perhaps through music, through visuals, or through the way people dress in Cameroon. I also think it’s possible to have multiple interests. I was interested in science, which seemed like something necessary to make a living, but also in art, because through it you can see so much. It’s like James Baldwin wrote in his texts on the creative process: the role of the artist is to ask questions for the answers that already exist. I’m not sure if everyone can do this, but artists definitely can.”
Camila Yunes Guarita interviews the curator of the 36th São Paulo Biennial
Last Thursday (24), the 36th São Paulo Biennial revealed to the public the title and concept of its new edition: “Not every wanderer walks roads – On humanity as practice.” Under the general curatorship of Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, the exhibition, inspired by a poem by Conceição Evaristo, proposes an inclusive approach deeply attuned to today’s multiple crises. In an exclusive conversation for Numéro Brasil magazine, Camila Yunes Guarita, art advisor and founder of KURA, interviewed Ndikung, who shared his perspectives on the transformative role of art. Issue No. 5 of Numéro Brasil, featuring the full interview, is now available at newsstands.
1. You hold a PhD in Medical Biotechnology from Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf/TU Berlin and a postdoctoral degree in Biophysics from Université de Montpellier in France. What led you to art?
2. Love is a feeling not always associated with exhibitions, unless the works themselves bring it as a central theme. In what way does love permeate the organization of this Biennial?
“I believe love is in everything I do, in my entire practice as a curator. At the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, where I currently work, everything we try to accomplish is grounded in love. Without a doubt, this feeling will play a very important role in the upcoming São Paulo Biennial.
It’s interesting to reflect on this, because I recently read a text by the Indian writer Arundhati Roy, which began like this: ‘To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you.’ To me, that is absolutely beautiful. So I can say that love and joy are two essential feelings, at the core of my practice. If it’s not based on love, it’s not worth it. At least for me, I don’t want to get involved in something that isn’t grounded in that feeling, because life is too short for that. Love is one of the most radical acts. To hate is easy; to love is not.”
3. You mentioned that the São Paulo Biennial could act as a seismograph—not only to record the different tremors the world is experiencing but also to offer possibilities for shaping a humanitarian future for all of us. How do you assess the transformative potential of art today?
“Many of the things happening in the world today—and that are not positive—also happen because of a lack of love. We have lost love for one another and for humanity itself. The Biennial is a seismograph, above all because of the emphasis it places on pedagogy. And the fact that it is free is something rare, since very few biennials in the world share this characteristic. I met countless people in Brazil who told me their very first contact with art was at the São Paulo Biennial.
To stand before art, with the possibility of being there alone but, above all, collectively—in a space that compels us to reflect on the condition of the world—has a very powerful impact. This represents an opportunity to change the world based on what we experience at the Biennial. So I feel very hopeful. And beyond that, I don’t have the privilege of despair. Of course, you can choose despair, but it is still a choice.”
The curator at the center, with the conceptual team of the 36th São Paulo Biennial: from left to right, Thiago de Paula Souza, Alya Sebti, Keyna Eleison, and Anna Roberta Goetz. Photo: Romulo Fialdini. Courtesy of Numéro Brasil.
4. You have been involved in projects in Brazil and have conducted extensive research on the work of Abdias Nascimento. What impact does his work have on you?
“He has a great impact on me and on many people, especially within the Afro-Brazilian community, but not only there. His work influences people around the world. I did an exhibition about him in the Netherlands entitled Being an Event of Love, which is important because it relates closely to our conversation. I took this title from an essay by Abdias Nascimento, in which he begins by saying that, as an act of love, art is this, that, and the other. Consider the power of this idea: art as an event of love. I had the privilege of accessing his writings, paintings, philosophy, and his relationship with spirituality and politics.”
5. If it were necessary to define art, as you mentioned above, what would your definition be?
“I believe I am not interested in defining art, as I don’t think it needs a definition. For me, what matters is what art does, not what it is. I am more interested in its performance, in the impact it has on me and on the world, than in trying to fit it into a definition.”
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