Early boom biennials in a pacified world

The chapter explores art biennials that emerged during the late Cold War and early globalization (1980s–1990s). These “early-boom biennials”, including the Istanbul Biennial (1987, 1989), Johannesburg Biennale (1995), and Bienal de La Habana, perceived themselves as agents of geopolitical reconciliation. These exhibitions operationalized Euro-American aesthetic ideals, such as the idea that art has a pacifying role and is able to enable historical change. The chapter argues that biennials adapted these beliefs to situated political transitions while developing ad hoc curatorial practices that later became standardized in the biennial toolkit, such as community workshops and collaborations