The Bombay Beach Biennale is an annual art festival held in
Bombay Beach, California
Bombay Beach is a census-designated place (CDP) in Imperial County, California, United States. It is located on the Salton Sea, west-southwest of Frink and is the lowest community in the United States, located below sea level. The population wa ...
on the
Salton Sea
The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...
in the lowest community in the United States. It was co-founded by
Tao Ruspoli
Tao Ruspoli (; born 7 November 1975) is an Italian-American filmmaker, photographer, musician, and co-founder of The Bombay Beach Biennale.
Early life
Ruspoli was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and raised in Rome, Italy and Los Angeles, California ...
,
Stefan Ashkenazy, and
Lily Johnson White in 2016. The festival features both temporary pieces and permanent installations such as the Hermitage Museum (designed by
Greg Haberny), Bombay Beach Opera House (designed by
James Ostrer), and a drive-in theater.
Themes
In 2016, the theme was "Decay".
In 2017, the theme was "The Way the Future Used to Be".
In 2018, the theme was "God’s Silence".
In 2019, the topic was “Post-Modernism”.
In 2020, activities were postponed due to COVID 19.
In 2021, the Biennale’s theme was “More Minimalism”, and the event was expanded into an entire season rather than a single weekend, with artists encouraged to live within the community full time for part of the year.
In 2022, the theme of the Biennale Season will be “Questioning Hierarchy”.
References
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[{{Cite news, last=Carroll, first=Rory, date=April 23, 2018, title=In a forgotten town by the Salton Sea, newcomers build a bohemian dream, language=en-GB, work=The Guardian, url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/23/salton-sea-bombay-beach-desert-town-artist-influx, access-date=July 7, 2020, issn=0261-3077]
Art festivals in the United States