Jo-Anne Birdie-Danzker

CEO of Biennale of Sydney

Q. How is it like to be back in Australia and what does it mean to you to take up a role as Director and CEO of the Biennale of Sydney?

A. I am thrilled to return to Sydney and honoured to be Director and CEO of the Biennale of Sydney in the year it celebrates its 45th anniversary. The Biennale, one of the largest exhibitions of its kind in the region, has a very distinguished past. Since 1973, twenty large-scale exhibitions have showcased 1,800 artists from over 100 countries around the globe. I am looking forward to help shape its future.

Q. You will be working together with curator Mami Kataoka for the exhibition in 2018 that will include a final roster of about 70 artists including prominent names such as Ai Weiwei, Laurent Grasso and Haegue Yang. According to Mami they “will explore multiple viewpoints…a journey; a walk through microcosms of the world today…” What would you like the audience to take away with them after seeing the show?

A. Under Mami’s leadership, the 21st Biennale promises to be a compelling exploration of the most urgent issues of the day as we collectively face an increasingly complex future. The 21st Biennale of Sydney is very much about how we can live together and how opposing views and interpretations of the world can come together in a state of equilibrium – and engagement.

Q.How could the Biennale of Sydney be different from any other exhibition that you have previously worked with?

A. I have worked on numerous large-scaled exhibitions in the past but what fascinates me about the Biennale is that Sydney itself becomes not only a stage for the Biennale but also its context. It is such a privilege to present the work of some of the finest national and international artists working today in spectacular UNESCO World Heritage sites. This is one of the most distinctive qualities of the Biennale of Sydney .

Q.You are known to have transformed the Frye with a stodgy reputation to a vibrant space for contemporary art. Do you always have a plan in mind and how do you know for certain just what is needed to succeed in this project?

A. Whenever I move to a new city, or a new institution, my first step is to listen. I need to understand. Only then can I begin to imagine a richer future and put in place the conditions that are necessary to realise it.

Q.What are some of the most empowering exhibitions you have ever directed, produced or curated in your career so far?

A. I have been blessed to have directed, produced and curated wonderful, transformative exhibitions but never on my own, always as part of a team of visionary artists and curators who revealed unexpected ways of seeing and understanding the world. Such occasions are a gift.

Q.We came to believe that at the height of your success (during Alley Barnes), you did not even curate the exhibition. How do you manage to give such freedom to an artist, and what do you need to see in an artist to be able to give such autonomy to them? 

A. Working with artists like Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes, and the brilliant artists Noah Davis and Kahlil Joseph whom he championed, is a privilege. Protecting their visions by not imposing one’s own is a complex navigation between offering support and distance simultaneously.

Q.What do you enjoy doing when you are not at the office?

A. I love to swim!

问：重新回到澳大利亚感觉如何?对于你来说，担任悉尼双年展的总监兼首席执行员的意义是什么?
答：我很高兴能返回悉尼，并荣幸地成为迈向45周年的悉尼双年展的总监兼首席执行员。作为该区域最大规模的展览之一，双年展拥有辉煌显赫的历史影响力。自1973年以来，20个大型展览展现了来自全球100多个国家1800位艺术家的心血结晶。我期待着协助塑造它的未来。

问：你与资深策展人片冈真实(Mami Kataoka)将携手策划2018年的展览会，届时将会有大约70名艺术家与合作伙伴，包括艾未未、Laurent Grasso和杨海固等知名艺术家。根据片冈真实的说法，他们将“探索多视点旅程；漫步于今日世界的微观生态……”。你想让观众观赏完毕后可以得到或领略什么？
答：在片冈真实的引导下，第21届双年展将承诺对当今最紧迫的课题进行引人注目的探索和思考，因为我们共同面临着日益复杂的未来。第21届悉尼双年展是关于我们将如何共存以及来自全世界的对立观点，还有解读如何能以平衡和参与的状态聚集在一起。

问：悉尼双年展的形式与你以前的展览工作有何区别?
答：过去我曾参与过许多大型展览，但是这次悉尼不仅是双年展的舞台，它的背景也令我十分着迷。我非常幸运能够在联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产区域中，与现今一些杰出国家和国际艺术家们配合工作。这是悉尼双年展最精粹的特质之一。

问：众所皆知，你已经将弗莱艺术博物馆打造为一个充满活力的当代艺术空间，你是否常具备相关规划或想法，准确的攻克工作项目的需求达至成功?
答：每当我迁移到一个新的城市，或者全新的机构，我所进行的第一步骤就是倾听。我需要彻底的了解，只有这样，我才能开始构想一个更丰富多彩的未来，并把实现它的首要条件放在最适当的位置。

问：在你的职业生涯中，至今曾执导、制作或策划过最具影响力的展览有哪些?
答：我曾经有幸参与执导、制作和策划精彩且具备变革性的展览，但从来都不是我独自的成果，这些荣誉有一部分属于有远见的艺术家和策展团队，他们以意想不到的方式揭示了所观察和理解的世界。这种场合是天赐机缘。

问：其实一般认为你成功的顶点(与AlleyBarnes合作时期)，你甚至没有参与策展。在怎么样的情况下你会给予艺术家最宽松的自由性和自主权，或者说这些艺术家身上必须拥有那些特质?
答：与像 Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes 类似艺术家以及他所倡议的杰出艺术家Noah Davis 和 Kahlil Joseph 一起工作已经是种特权。因此不强加自己的想法来保护他们的意愿，这是同时提供支援和保持距离的复杂导航方式。

问：脱离办公室的时间，你喜欢做什么?
答：我喜欢游泳!