In the absence of economic and institutional support, particularly in the Balkan Region, artists are often compelled to immigrate to countries of more developed culture, in order to enhance their chances of survival and success on the ultracompetitive global art scene or market. The 17^th Art Biennial, tackling this issue, is set as an open gate, a passage for artists from this part of Europe, but also as a platform for the current states of reality of the society we live in.

An artist, in the role of a philosopher of the new era, from post-modernism to the present day, does not seek to draw conclusions as much as to make us aware or pose a question, to introduce us into the issue and initiate a dialogue. In this regard, the selection of artworks for the 17^th Art Biennial focuses on works which question current social topics and places, speculate on reality, life in the globalized world, consumerism, identities, current migration, ethics, as well as many human passions.

The subtitle of the exhibition, States of Reality, points to the aspiration towards the realization of being here and now, towards the necessity of holding a stance and perspectives, having different views, approaches, moods, mentalities and the like. Life today means living in microsocieties which are mutually intertwined in various ways, and such a life does not always provide the feeling of living in a perfect world, but it allows us to see it in a more humane way, with more empathy.

With this exhibition we want to show many personal observations of artists, which are basically humane, realistic, honest and sensible. The idea of the exhibition is to make us richer for new knowledge or experience. In this respect, the 17^th Art Biennial exhibition spaces, symbolically represented as gates, that is, passages or gateways, call for a contemplative path of visitors and their possible exit from the standard way of thinking about everyday life, offering them a new interpretation and experience of the present moment.

At this year Biennial we will present works of Ivan Grubanov, Marius Bercea, Ibro Hasanovic, Tanja Ostojic, Anur Hadžiomerspahić, Timea Anita Oravecz, Alban Hajdinaj, Tatjana Milošević, Nevena Prijić, Tanja Juričan, Predrag Popara, while artistic groups Under Realism will perform two-hour of speed painting on the opening day, 15th of September.

17th Art Biennial, 15th September to 15th  October 2016, Pancevo, Serbia.

via bart