First class experience? Art biennials and classism

This chapter aims to problematize the social implications and social distinctions underlying art biennials and the publics they shape. When arguing with Pierre Bourdieu’s proposition that visiting a museum is one of the most distinctive practices of the elite, then travel trips around the world to participate in the recurring cycle of art biennials are an even stronger marker of elite distinctiveness. This chapter provides food for thought on various aspects of art biennials’ interwovenness with social background, class and classism by considering among others obstacles in art education, art world insider’s habitus, exclusions on the ground of social and geographical background and the overall cultural significance art biennials are ascribed. By problematizing how class plays a role in experiencing art biennials, this chapter hopes to provide yet another perspective on the contexts of contemporary art, its complexity and cultural authority.