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2016–2017 : Biennales du Sud

There is a boom of art historical studies on the globalisation of the arts or global art world. Sociological accounts are, despite the rise of cultural and art sociology in recent years, almost complete absent from this discussion. This presentation makes a contribution to the globalisation of the arts, but from a sociological and quantitative perspective. The focus of this paper is on particular type of global institution – biennials and other types of art festivals or large-scale exhibitions. These institutions are seen being major places of exchange and formulation of norms and standards. They define what is hip and new. However, theories of globalisation, in combination with accounts from professionals of the field, claim that these institutions propagate only Western values or have a homogenising quality, because they only show caste works from artists of the Western hemisphere or that they repeat the same works and artists across the globe. However, based on a large-scale quantitative survey, this presentation will demonstrate that picture is more complex and that we find tendencies to homogenisation and heterogenisation existing at the same time or that the locality of these events acts as a source of uniqueness and innovativeness.

Christian Morgner

Christian Morgner is a Lecturer in Culture and Communication at the University of Leicester. His research interests include globalisation of arts and culture, global cities and sociological theory. His work explores questions of culture, media and globality from an interdisciplinary, sociologically informed perspective, and has taken three main directions: first, work on cultural diversity and cultural inequality in the global art world; second, on global artistic hubs and cultural policies; and third, on the diffusion and localisation of creative practices. He has previously held positions and visiting fellowships at the University of Cambridge, Yale University, Hitotsubashi University (Toyko) and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (Paris). Currently, he works on projects about the globalisation of the arts, creative industries in Japan and art and dementia.

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