Liverpool Biennial

For the 12th edition of the Liverpool Biennial (10 June–17 September), curator Khanyisile Mbongwa is delving into the complicated colonial history of the city. Titled ‘uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things’ –  ‘uMoya’ means spirit, breath, air, climate and wind in the isiZulu language – the city-wide biennial looks to Indigenous forms of knowledge, wisdom and healing, with 30 international artists and collectives taking part. The Tobacco Warehouse at Stanley Dock – the largest brick warehouse in the world – is hosting displays for the first time in the history of the event; works by six artists include an immersive installation by Albert Ibokwe Khoza, while there will also be a number of live performances hosted across the Tobacco Warehouse and another new venue, the Cotton Exchange. At Tate Liverpool is an exhibition exploring life, death and what lies between, with works by artists including Torkwase Dyson, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum and Shannon Alonzo; at FACT Liverpool, Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski presents a new commissioned, multi-screen video work, for which the artist invited local Black communities in Liverpool to participate. There are also a series of large-scale outdoor works installed throughout the city. Find out more on the Liverpool Biennial’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

Shadow on the Land and Excavation and Bush Burial (2020), Nicholas Galanin. Photo: Alex Robinson; courtesy the artist

Washerwoman (2018), Shannon Alonzo. Photo: Kibwe Brathwaite; courtesy the artist