Year founded: 1978
Organiser: Biennial of Cerveira Foundation

Profile

Created by a group of artists in 1978, the Cerveira Art Biennale is an example of how one event has matured into a stable organisation.

The Cerveira International Art Biennial, the oldest art festival in Portugal and in the Iberian Peninsula in terms of activity, is directed to the promotion of contemporary art. Existing since 1978, this event is supported by a national and international reputation. Fostering and stimulating the region’s creativity, the cultural decentralization and internationalization, it provides, for over 40 years, a space for meeting, interaction and dissemination of ideas, as an opportunity for the acknowledgement of national and international artists.

The Cerveira International Art Biennial extends its activities from Portugal to other European countries (particularly the Galicia region of Spain). This event was distinguished with the EFFE – Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe label.

In order to keep the Cerveira International Art Biennial quality and innovation, it was crucial to update it and seek alternative financial resources. Thus, in 2010, the Cerveira Art Biennial Foundation was acknowledged as a framework to create the adequate conditions for the professionalization and consolidation of this cultural and creative project. The Cerveira Biennial Art Foundation mission is to promote contemporary art, through its annual and multidisciplinary programs, the organisation of the art biennials, the management and maintenance of the Foundation assets, the boosting of the Cerveira Biennial Museum, and the support to the creative entrepreneurship.

This set of actions reflects an opportunity for change and responds to future challenges, within the agenda for the stability of the Portuguese northern creative industries cluster. It also enhances the development of the creative and artistic areas, as well as the forecast of the region’s image of modernity and life quality.

The Cerveira Art Biennial Foundation’s vision is focused on promoting this event as a cultural space of creative excellence, with the capacity to stimulate a developmental model at national and international level”.

Source: www.bienaldecerveira.org