From June 5–8, 2025, the third edition of the Biennale für Freiburg will officially launch, activating the Kunstverein Freiburg, the Museum für Neue Kunst, the Schauinslandbahn, and various other indoor and outdoor locations. Under the title HAPPY PLACE, the Biennale examines Freiburg’s symbolism as "the south of Germany" while critically exploring the economy of wanderlust and the semiotics of the picturesque. The capitalized, provocative, and performative title alludes to the concept of cruel optimism, which sustains the illusion of an idealized idyll amidst precarity and everyday crises.
Press Conference: June 5, 2025, 11:00 AM
Vernissage: June 5, 2025, from 5:00 PM cable car ride to the mountain station, 6 pm start of the opening event
Opening Weekend: June 5–8, 2025
HAPPY PLACE
From sunset backdrops with palm trees and iconic landmarks to picturesque villages and the staged performance of local traditions—tourism operates as a business fueled by promises of happiness, escapism, and the thrill of discovery. In this cartography of desires, "the south" is often framed as an object of longing, closely tied to romanticized and exoticized images of "paradise." Yet, paradoxically, tourism itself drives significant transformations of these very destinations. Given its far-reaching impacts on economies, environments, and political structures, as well as its influence on social dynamics, tourism must be examined as a multidimensional phenomenon.
The Biennale highlights the enduring links between colonialism and the global travel industry, with a particular focus on the processes of touristification in the so-called Global South. To critically interrogate how "the south" is staged as a site of touristic fantasies—and the material consequences of these imaginations—the Biennale invites local and international artists to examine geopolitical entanglements, power structures, and the longing for "the south" in their work. At the same time, their artistic positions reflect acts of resistance against constructed notions of otherness, offering a platform for emancipatory counter-narratives.
Through a range of formats—including a city-wide exhibition, performative city tours, a symposium, and mediation programs—the Biennale opens up new perspectives on tourism and its historical as well as contemporary dynamics. The aim is to reflect on tourism in all its contradictions while reimagining tourists not merely as consumers but as political subjects.
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CURATOR
The third edition of the Biennale für Freiburg is curated by Lorena Juan. Her curatorial practice involves experimental formats, public space, and collaborative processes. She has curated exhibitions, event series, and screenings at institutions including the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, the Akademie der Künste, the Schwules Museum, the nGbK, and Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien in Berlin. Most recently, she worked as an exhibition curator for the transmediale festival and was a curator for Kunst im Untergrund, an international public art program.
