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The Perennial Biennial


Europe witnesses significant political and cultural changes, regularly putting the cohesion of European countries and actors at risk. In turn, this unrest has brought about an urgency and desire for closer collaboration in the arts. The Perennial Biennial is a partnership of five European Contemporary Art Biennials working together to develop and explore sustainable models for perennial practices in the biennial field.

The Perennial Biennial runs as a year-round collaboration and aims to challenge and further the field of biennial practice and strengthen European biennial collaboration across five partners in Germany, Latvia, Slovenia, Norway and the UK and in partnership with the International Biennial Association (IBA). Liverpool Biennial, Berlin Biennale, Riga International Biennial of Contemporary Art, MGLC (Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts) and Bergen Assembly are working together on this programme for four years from September 2018 until September 2022.

The project supports research, writing and the formulation of new narratives in the biennial field through collaborative working, staff exchanges and the sharing of expertise and models for sustainable practice. Its aim is to create a dynamic European platform of exchange which will strengthen the contemporary art sector at a global, European and local level.

The project is supported by Creative Europe which is the European Union's programme to support the cultural, creative and audio-visual sectors.

To find out more about the involvement of the Berlin Biennale, please contact the Berlin Biennale communications office.


Creative Europe is the European Union's programme to support the cultural, creative and audio-visual sectors. From 2014 to 2020, 1.46 billion euro is available to support European projects with the potential to travel, reach new audiences and encourage skill sharing and development.