Pooling voices sensitive to contemporary impasses, drawn from different fields, fronts, and backgrounds, the Seminars explore such themes as the invention of a new political imagination, the particularities of time that have emerged since the advent of virtual life, a de-colonial approach to current feminisms, and the reverberation of the symbolic production of indigenous peoples and social movements.
A central axis on which the Public Programs are plotted at the 21st Biennial, the meetings are designed to generate opportunities to produce previously unheard-of forms of thinking the future, both around and beyond the works on display, and with room for discussion and dissension.
The Seminars are held at the Theater (lower ground) and Auditorium (6th floor), in two stages, spanning three consecutive evenings apiece. The first takes place between October 15 and 17, and the second, November 12 and 15. In the interests of more thorough access, all sessions will have simultaneous translation in sign language.
The addresses prepared by the speakers were edited for publication under the title Leituras [Readings], which, along with the catalogue of works and artists, completes the 21st Biennial's editorial platform.
VLADIMIR SAFATLE — Lecturer in philosophy at the Universidade de São Paulo, his research subjects include the epistemology of psychoanalysis and psychology and the philosophy of music. He is the author of O circuito dos afetos: corpos políticos, desamparo e o fim do indivíduo (Cosac Naify, 2015). He coordinates the Social Theory, Philosophy, and Psychoanalysis Research Lab at FFLCH USP.
MÁRCIO SELIGMANN-SILVA — Lecturer in literary theory at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas, his themes of research include German romanticism, media theory, 18th- to 20th- century aesthetics, and the work of Walter Benjamin. He is the author of Ler o livro do mundo (Iluminuras/Fapesp, 1999), for which he won a National Library award, and O local da diferença (Editora 34, 2005), winner of the Jabuti Prize in the literary criticism category.
LUISA DUARTE —Art critic, curator, lecturer, and former member of the advisory board to MAM São Paulo (2009–2012). In conjunction with Adriano Pedrosa, she edited the book ABC – Arte brasileira contemporânea (Cosac Naify, 2014). Her curatorial projects include Quarta-feira de cinzas (Escola de Artes Visuais do Parque Lage, 2015) and Tunga – O rigor da distração (MAR, 2018), both in Rio de Janeiro.