Claire Shea: Gestures of Abundance: Journey to a Biennial
Photo: Claire Shea by Sarah Bodri
Claire Shea: Gestures of Abundance: Journey to a Biennial
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Gestures of Abundance: Journey to a Biennial
This talk traces the journey to curating a new biennial in the Azores, inaugurated in 2025 on São Miguel. As co-curator of the first edition of the Walk&Talk Biennial, Gestures of Abundance, Claire Shea reflects on the curatorial process that evolved in response to the archipelago’s geological, political, and cultural conditions. She will outline the themes, exhibitions, and collaborative methods that shaped this iteration and elaborate on how these connect with her broader curatorial practice.
Biography:
Claire Shea is a curator based in Tkaronto/Toronto. In 2025, she co-curated the inaugural edition of the Walk&Talk Biennial, Gestures of Abundance, in the Azores. She previously served as Director of Fogo Island Arts, where she curated exhibitions and programs including Meltwater and Liam Gillick’s A Variability Quantifier. Earlier roles include Deputy Director at Para Site, Hong Kong’s leading contemporary art centre and one of Asia’s oldest and most active independent art institutions, where she co-curated the major group exhibition An Opera for Animals, which toured to Rockbund Art Museum in 2019, and Curatorial Director at Cass Sculpture Foundation. In 2014, she was Associate Curator of the Shenzhen Sculpture Biennial, We Have Never Participated.
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