Photography by Emilia Aivazian.
The Biennale of Sydney announces the appointment of curator and writer Vivian Ziherl who joins the 24th Biennale of Sydney team as Curatorial Advisor to Artistic Directors Cosmin Costinaș and Inti Guerrero.
Vivian Ziherl is one of Australia’s foremost curators working in the international field of contemporary art, with extensive experience across Europe, the Middle East/West Asia, the Asia Pacific and in North America. As founding Director of Frontier Imaginaries and in her current role as Research and Programs Manager at Kunstinstituut Melly she has guided urgent dialogues led by landmark artistic projects.
As Curatorial Advisor to the Artistic Directors, Vivian Ziherl will work to further the artistic vision and public impact of Ten Thousand Suns together with artists, program contributors and the Biennale of Sydney team. She joins celebrated artist Tony Albert as Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain First Nations Curatorial Fellow to complete the curatorial team.
Appointed by Cosmin Costinaş and Inti Guerrero, they say: “Vivian is a much respected colleague and collaborator over the years. We are delighted to welcome her in the 24th Biennale of Sydney as Curatorial Advisor. Her longstanding, unique, and insightful engagement with artists, histories, and conversations pertaining to Australian processes of reconciliation and their connection to international debates will make her voice an invaluable contribution to the 24th Biennale of Sydney.”
Biography
Vivian Ziherl is Research and Programs Manager at Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam, one of the Netherlands’ longest-running art centres. Ziherl founded and directed Stichting Frontier Imaginaries (2016-2019), presenting exhibitions with the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane, the Al Ma’mal Foundation in Jerusalem, e-flux and Colombia University in New York, and the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. Her previous roles include Curator with If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want to Be Part of Your Revolution (2012-2014). As a freelance curator she co-initiated ‘Koloa: Women Art and Technology’ with Tunakaimanu Fielakepa and Cosmin Costinas (2019-2021), and she co-curated the inaugural performance programs of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam ‘Stage It!’ together with Hendrik Folkerts (2011-12). Ziherl is a PhD candidate in Curatorial Studies at Monash University in Melbourne. She served as an Advisor to documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens (2017).