The Second International Biennial of Ecological Art is an international exhibition project planned to be held in Nizhny Novgorod from April through October 2027. It was organized at the initiative of the government of Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Moscow Triumph Gallery.[1]
Announcement
The biennial was announced on September 24, 2026, at the House of Nizhny Novgorod Region in Moscow.[1] Deputy Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Berkovich Oleg named two key objectives of the project: developing the Nizhny Novgorod art scene and creating a platform for dialogue between Russian contemporary art and the international community.[1] Co-owner of the Triumph Gallery Dmitry Khankin described the second edition as "a significantly more cohesive and focused product" compared to the first.[1]
Concept and Programme
The main project is titled Memento Vivere ("Remember to Live"). Its curator is philosopher Roy Brand, founder of the Autonomous Biennial of Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv. Programme director will be Yulia Aksenova, who served as chief curator of the first edition of the Eco-Biennial.[1]
The organizing metaphor of the biennial is the confluence of the Volga and the Oka: the meeting of nature and culture, traditional and contemporary knowledge, science and philosophy. The thematic programme will unfold across eight strands: water, earth, air, forest, light, sound, love, and future life.[1][2]
Artists from Russia, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Brazil, and other countries are planned to participate in the biennial.[1]
Venues
The event will be held at several Nizhny Novgorod venues:[1][2]
- Pakgauzy na Strelke — the symbolic heart of the biennale, where the theme of the merging of water and air will be explored;
- Volgo-Vyatsky Branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Arsenal) — a special project by Yulia Aksenova, "Anima Mundi. Experiments in Spiritual Ecology" (April 29 – September 27), as well as a separate multimedia project in the TsEKh* space (May 28 – July 27);
- NGKHM | "Russian Art" — works by contemporary artists on the theme of the forest, integrated into the collection of Russian landscape painting;
- NGKHM | Manezh — works on the theme of the earth, its cultivation, and natural resources;
- NGKHM | "Foreign Art" — an intervention project featuring foreign artists;
- Building 10 of the NGKHM — will open to the general public for the first time;
- The Literary Garden of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin — will be designed as a Buddhist Zen garden.
Background
The First International Biennale of Ecological Art was held in Nizhny Novgorod from April 18 to November 20, 2025. It was attended by approximately 170,000 people; the program featured more than 200 artists from 35 countries, including BRICS member states. The inaugural edition comprised over 30 projects at 15 venues across the city.[2]
Sources
- Vremya N — The Second International Biennale of Ecological Art announced in Moscow
- Nizhegorodskiye novosti — The Second Biennale of Ecological Art to be held in Nizhny Novgorod (archive)