IT IS AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF CORSICA, IN THE HEART OF ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NATURE RESERVES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA AND ITS HERITAGE TREASURES, THAT DE RENAVA CELEBRATES THE BEST OF INTERNATIONAL & CORSICAN CONTEMPORARY ART.
By establishing a dialogue between artworks, architecture and nature, the biennale offers a journey of discovery and contemplation, showing alternative visions of Corsica, the Mediterranean and the world of tomorrow.
De Renava is a non-profit organization, recognized as being of public interest and committed to protecting the urban, historical and environmental heritage. From the Genoese citadel of Bonifacio to the land of the lords of Alta Rocca region, De Renava evolves in exceptional backgrounds in a spirit of preservation and enhancement.
The project revolves around three distinct axes:
THE BONIFACIO BIENNALE - spreads every two years in the emblematic city of Bonifacio, nestled in different heritage sites and specially designed lodges. Open to all fields of creation, and specialized in multi-media installations and moving image-based experiments, the biennale welcomes artworks by both internationally renowned and local artists. For a period of 6 months, the exhibition invites the public to discover hidden gems and renew their gaze of the city through the seasons. The next edition will start during spring 2024.
DE RENAVA OFF - the years without biennales, art institutions from Mediterranean countries are invited to come exhibit part of their collections in Bonifacio, in order to make major contemporary creations accessible in our remote area. The first edition took place during summer 2023 with an exceptional collaboration with the Centre Pompidou.
THE WILD ITINERARY - like a confidential garden, invites visitors in the footsteps of scattered pavilions in the Corsican mountains. Somewhere between sculpture and architecture, these pavilions are artworks permanently installed in the heart of nature, left to the discovery of the wanderer. The project is scheduled for launch in 2024.
SETUP
AND
CURATION
With a reduced number of exhibiting artists, small groups' visits and access to picturesque heritage sites, De Renava distinguishes itself from monumental exhibitions by offering a fresh and intimate experience to the public.
The project is led by a research team and experts in art, architecture and engineering, all from the extreme south of the island and childhood friends. The team is moved by the desire to activate the island heritage and to invest in creation and valorisation of local identities by developing a virtuous project that opens up dialogue and cultural exchange within the Mediterranean.
Faithful to its Mediterranean DNA, De Renava draws its subjects, both for the Biennale and the OFF, from the thematic reservoir and iconography of the "Midland sea", and notably from its ancien legacy: starting point for a universal debate, which will be carried by the multiplicity of guest artists. During the Biennale, the Capsule room, located in the Montlaur military barracks, is entirely devoted to the Corsican artistic scene: different works will be successively exhibited there, thus opening new theme interpretations.