From Venice to Shenzhen: the localization of a global Biennale model

Biennials are commonly considered tools in neo-liberal economies to foster the image of the "creative city" worldwide. Venice Biennale could be considered as a foundational paradigm for the creation of sch exhibition system in both conceptual and spatial design aspects: following its foundation, many cities created their own -ennials exhibitions. Since the 1990s, moreover, Asia and China are witnessing a great increase in the number of exhibitions of such kind. What is the relationship between what is considered a global phenomenon and its reinterpretation in a local context? What kind of practices and relationships does it imply? Biennial exhibition is conceived here as a "world practice" and as a vector of exchange in cross-cultural contexts, a situated experiment adopted by host cities trying to negotiate their position in the global circuit and trying to test new ways of participating in the "creative" debate. The article examines two dimensions of this dialogue: on the one hand, how Chinese architects became familiar with the model of Venice Biennale; on the other hand, how the global model of Venice Biennale has been borrowed and adapted by local Chinese biennial, Shenzhen/Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture.