Ibirapuera, Bienal 1951, Auditório 2002, OCA 1954
The Bienal de São Paulo was initiated in 1951 and is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennial, which was set up 1895 and served as its role model. Since 1957, the Bienal has been held in the Ciccillo Matarazzo pavilion in the Parque do Ibirapuera. The pavilion was designed by a team led by architects Oscar Niemeyer and Hélio Uchôa, and provides an exhibition space of 30,000 m2. In 1962 the Fundação Bienal de São Paulo was created, taking over the exhibition organization. The venue it occupies today came to house the biennials from its fourth edition onwards. The biennial serves to bring Brazilian art closer to an international audience, and vice versa. The international exhibitions are held under the direction of rotating chief curators.
