Participating in the 11th International Meeting of the World Biennales in Lyon.

 Culture, Politics, and War.

Culture and war share a linguistic link, echoing the tension between creation and destruction. They can be imagined as two banks of a river, with politics acting as a movable bridge connecting them—at times intensifying conflict, at times negotiating balance between what is possible, desired, and imagined. In today’s global landscape of conflict, the bank of war often dominates, flooding islands of culture, creativity, and dreams. In an era of warlike attitudes and relentless news cycles, the only force capable of redirecting the river lies in culture—through art, thought, and life itself.

The 11th World Biennale Meeting in Lyon took place during the first ten days of October 2025, as part of the 17th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art. Biennales are among the most prominent and widely recognized artistic events worldwide, held in diverse locations with a core focus on art and creation. The tradition began in Venice in 1893 and has since grown into the largest and longest-running active contemporary art institution, evolving across creative fields and geographic contexts.

The term "Biennale" reflects its biennial rhythm, presenting new themes, works, and artists every two years, while maintaining continuity as a creative baton passed from local contexts to the global art scene. Artists are the central protagonists, whose works emerge through the intricate interplay of art forms, societies, and human connections. Biennales today are recognized as crucial milestones for cultural exchange and intercultural dialogue, fostering discussions on contemporary art, complex creativity, and the relationship between humans and their cultural and natural environments.

At the 11th World Biennale Meeting in Lyon, roundtable discussions brought together organizers from around the world to address broader issues related to art, society, environment, sustainability, and cultural exchange. New, established, and emerging Biennales—from Guatemala to the Urals, from Japan to the Aegean, from war-torn Gaza to Europe and the United States—demonstrated the power of art as a bridge connecting diverse inspirations and perspectives.

Our participation as the Argastiri Cultural Institution reflected a long-standing aspiration to open our local context to the world through art and active cultural engagement. It emphasized Crete’s enduring role as a crossroads—not only of continents and civilizations but also of cultures, artistic practices, and creative currents. This synthesis provides Crete with the opportunity to expand from the scale of the local to the global, becoming part of a worldwide network of ideas, arts, and cultural exchange. In this way, Crete moves from a “white” local canvas to a “colorful” global web.

Crete itself condenses a world of contrasts—geographical, social, cultural, and behavioral—offering a microcosm of global geography within the confines of a single large island. In our era, cultural initiatives through creation reinvigorate the past in active dialogue with the present, opening new pathways toward a human-centered future designed around the needs of society. Only through inquiry into the very fabric of culture can society take the leap forward, imagining, planning, and creating desires and dedications inspired by the pursuit of beauty.

Our participation sought precisely this: to propose a global-local approach, in which communities and cities, arts and crafts, local and global, tradition and innovation, techniques and technologies move from Crete’s current white, disconnected canvas into the vibrant, interconnected tapestry of the global art world.

Visit the official website: https://https://www.labiennaledelyon.com/en