Bombay Beach Biennale


The Bombay Beach Biennale (BBB) is an art event held in Bombay Beach, California on the Salton Sea in the lowest community in the United States. It was co-founded by Tao Ruspoli, Stefan Ashkenazy, and Lily Johnson White in 2016. The event 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.

The BBB avows itself as a "renegade celebration of art, music, and philosophy that takes place on the literal edge of western civilization." It involves a seasonal dimension, during which numerous artists and participants gather and stay in town for several months each year while they collaborate on art and events, and it culminates in a celebratory weekend. The precise dates of the celebratory culmination are shared only with people who are actively participating in or contributing to its happening. There are no fees or tickets required to attend.

The Biennale took place every year between 2016 and 2024 (excepting 2020 due to Covid). However, as of 2024, the satire originally imbuing name of the event became reality, and the organizers of the Biennale declared that the BBB would thenceforth take place only every two years, on even numbered years. A new event, Convivium, was spawned in 2025 and will take place on odd years.

In connection with the BBB, the town and beach of Bombay Beach have become increasingly populated with a variety of permanent art installations, or as permanent as the punishing environmental conditions will allow. The BBB of 2023 saw the premiere of the Bombay Beach Lit Fest, which was inaugurated by writers Gina Frangello and Rob Roberge.

Roaming the streets of Bombay Beach during the BBB, you might encounter world-class opera, musical theatre, jazz bands, acrobats, poetry readings and writings, uncategorizable performance artists, fashion shows, dance clubs audaciously dug into the dirt, dance clubs lovingly installed into the shell of a broken building and serving coffee, fire-art installations, countless sculptures and site-specific installations, surrealist peep shows, as well as "environmental chats on the future of the Salton Sea, circus acts, film screenings, eclectic musical improvisations, and all-night dancing."

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.