Climate Biennial

We know that the climate crisis will shape the way we live and organise ourselves as a society – in many cases, through dystopian scenarios. And yet, we still struggle enormously to process emotionally, culturally and politically what the much-needed ecological transition truly entails. Not so much due to a lack of information, but rather to a lack of shared spaces of meaning. As Neri Oxman once said, we are no longer living in the age of Enlightenment (knowledge), but in the age of Entanglement – the interconnectedness of all points, which already exists, albeit in fragmented and disconnected ways.

If hard scientific data alone is not enough, and neither is the engineering infrastructure required for decarbonisation, then what are we missing? What is the glue that will help us connect these still-disjointed dots?

The Climate Biennial finds its answer in art and culture.

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The first edition of an interdisciplinary and decentralised initiative

If we continue to speak about connecting (with one another) and relating, we find that the Biennial brings together multiple disciplines – artistic, scientific and more – as well as a wide range of actors: from several ministries (Ecological Transition, Culture, Housing), to the Government of Asturias, to the City Council of Avilés at a local level, alongside foundations and other organisations I will mention below. It also brings together more than 40 artists and collectives, spanning local and international contexts.
In a moment marked by polarisation, this deliberate effort to convene ideological, generational and social diversity in order to address the challenges of our time strikes me as profoundly strategic. And, at the same time, deeply healing.

And why Avilés and Asturias for the first edition? Because the territory is undergoing a key moment of ecological transition and decarbonisation. Asturias, with its strong mining tradition… resonates with me personally. As someone from Cartagena, a city whose economy is also heavily dependent on fossil industries, I recognise many of the trade-offs this transition entails.

Activating an entire territory

What unfolds is a choreography distributed across the city and the region. The Biennial takes place in former industrial facilities, art schools, cultural centres and heritage sites. This, in itself, is a powerful statement: the climate question runs through the material memory of a place – its trades, its streets, and the people who inhabit it. These spaces act as layers of a territorial history that has thrived thanks to fossil-based industry, and which now needs to be rewritten without denying where it comes from.

The territory thus becomes a living laboratory – and for this experimentation to take place, exchange between art, science and technology is essential. This is why the Biennial will host artistic residencies in collaboration with the Spanish Meteorological Agency and the City of Energy Foundation. It is likely that multiple innovations will emerge from this process – some of which may even scale into impact-driven start-ups.

Frameworks to think (and feel) the transition

The Biennial is structured around three key frameworks:

• Duelos y Júbilos (Grief and Joy), which addresses the emotional dimension that anchors everyday experience and the collective memory of the ecological transition.
• Industrias Presentes (Present Industries), which focuses on Asturias’ mining and industrial heritage, and on how ideas of progress and sustainability are shaped through both material and symbolic analysis.
• Estación Meteo (Meteo Station), which combines artistic research with scientific dialogue to explore new ways of observing and communicating atmospheric phenomena.

Some of the people and organisations behind the Biennial

I am always interested in the social fabric that makes any innovation possible. Beyond the governmental bodies already mentioned, it is worth highlighting some of the key people driving this process. From Atelier itd, Amanda Masha Caminals is the Biennial’s Artistic Director, while Carla Jaria leads Artistic Production and European Projects. Zoe López is responsible for Artistic Mediation, and Elena Mataix for Learning. On the research side, Elisa Cuesta contributes from an artistic research perspective, and Cecilia López Pablos from a territorial one. The team also includes Miguel Soberón, Camila Cabral and Caren Camiscia.

The initiative is further supported by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, as well as the philanthropic organisation Porticus.

From this rich ecosystem, a question is posed to all of us:
“What utopias can we imagine today?”

Creative Regeneration

The philosophy and process behind the Climate Biennial resonate deeply with what underpins Creative Regeneration. With the methodology – mapping territory and socio-cultural, environmental and economic controversies; activating transformation through strategy and a shared vision of the future; and giving tangible form to the everyday experience of transition. But also with our purpose and philosophy.

💫 And you – will you join the Climate Biennial?