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Caroline Gueye speaks about biennales, art fairs and residencies
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Biennales, art fairs, and residencies: These are some of the largest and most visible events in the art world.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Caroline Gueye.

I am speaking to you from the Venice Biennale, where I am honored to be representing my home country, Senegal: Welcome to my exhibit.

So what is a biennale?

And what are art fairs and residencies?

And why are these events so important for us, as artists?

Biennales are major international exhibitions held every two years.

They showcase what's happening in the contemporary art world — right now.

Art fairs often have more of a commercial focus — You can think of them as events where art meets business.

They can be great places to connect with collectors and to sell your work.

Residencies give you time and space to develop your practice.

They can also give you the chance to meet or work with other artists.

When you participate in a biennale, an art fair or a residency, your work gets to travel and be seen well beyond your studio.

And you get the opportunity to meet people who might end up shaping your career in unexpected ways.

Explore our content on Biennales, Art Fairs and Residencies to understand how these events work and how they can shape and support your career.

Biennales, Art Fairs, Residencies

3 min read

Biennales, art fairs and residencies bring together artists, curators, collectors, and audiences from around the world.

These platforms give artists a chance to show their work, meet new people, and develop creatively. They also help shape artistic careers and influence what becomes popular or important in contemporary art.

are large-scale international contemporary art exhibitions held every two years. Famous examples include the Venice Biennale (founded in 1895, Venice, Italy), one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious art events, the São Paulo Biennale (established in 1951, Brazil), a key art biennale in Latin America and second oldest in the world, and the Whitney Biennial (New York, USA), known for highlighting new developments in American contemporary art. Biennales showcase current trends and bring attention to emerging artists, attracting curators and collectors from around the world.

are commercial events in which galleries, artists, collectors, and curators come together to exhibit, sell and buy art. Events like Art Basel (founded in 1970, Basel, Switzerland), one of the world’s leading art marketplaces, now held annually in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong, and Frieze Art Fair (established in 2003, London, United Kingdom), a major international platform for contemporary art, with editions in New York, Los Angeles, and Seoul, serve as important market hubs and networking platforms.

Several prominent fairs around the world highlight the growing regional diversity of the art market. Art Dubai (founded in 2007, Dubai, United Arab Emirates), the leading art fair in the Middle East, focuses on artists from the Global South. SP-Arte (founded in 2005, São Paulo, Brazil) has become a major hub connecting Latin American and international art scenes. The Investec Cape Town Art Fair (founded in 2013, Cape Town, South Africa) promotes contemporary African art on a global stage. India Art Fair (founded in 2008, New Delhi, India) serves as South Asia’s leading platform for modern and contemporary art. These events reflect today’s increasingly interconnected and inclusive global art world.

play a different yet complementary role by providing visual artists with time and space for research and creation. Many residencies end with an exhibition, open studio, or public event in which artists share their work. Residencies also create opportunities to meet artists from other cultures and disciplines, which can often lead to new ideas or collaborations.

These elements are important for an artist’s career and for how the wider art world develops over time.