The Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art has announced the appointment of Ukrainian curator and researcher Vasyl Cherepanin as curator of its 14th edition, which will take place in the summer of 2027.
Vadym Cherepanin is a curator and researcher working at the intersection of art, political philosophy, and social movements. His work focuses on the post-Soviet context of Eastern Europe and considers art as part of the broader social and cultural transformation of contemporary Europe.
Developing his concept for the future Biennale, Cherepanin emphasises that “curating today means complete dedication to the future of art and its role in the city, as well as the ability to learn from the social context in which it exists. The Berlin Biennale, which emerged after the fall of the Berlin Wall, has the potential to create a new public sphere — not only artistic or academic, but socio-political in nature. For me, this approach is based on my experience working in Ukraine, especially now that Russia’s colonial war is confronting Europe with the most pressing issues of our time.”
Cherepanin’s candidacy was unanimously supported by an international selection committee comprising leading experts from the global art world, including Akiko Miki (Director of the Naoshima New Museum of Art, Japan), Emma Enderby (Director of the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin), Marta Kuzma (Professor at Yale University, USA), and others.
Axel Wieder, Director of the Berlin Biennale, noted: “Vasyl Cherepanin brings a unique perspective to the Berlin Biennale — not only because of his geographical origins, but also because of his curatorial approach, which focuses on collective artistic practices closely linked to the social contexts of the city.”
Vasyl Cherepanin was born in Ivano-Frankivsk and currently lives in Berlin. He is the co-founder and director of the Visual Culture Research Centre (VCRC), a platform for collaboration between academic, artistic, and activist communities. The Centre is the organiser of the Kyiv Biennale and co-founder of the Eastern European Biennial Alliance (EEBA).
Cherepanin is a member of the curatorial group of the Kyiv Biennale, which is currently taking place in several European institutions — the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, the Museum of Modern Art in Antwerp, the Centre for Contemporary Culture in Dnipro, the Dovzhenko Centre in Kyiv, and the Lentos Kunstmuseum in Linz. It will conclude at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in 2026.
The Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art takes place every two years at various locations across Berlin. Since its inception in 1998, it has been one of the most significant international forums showcasing experimental artistic and political positions in dialogue with urban space.