Arte e Educação - Fundação Bienal do Mercosul

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they did not know what a “frontier” is. They
explained that some of the people who come to
the Biennial, particularly children, sometimes do
not know that by crossing a certain line drawn in
the cement, or a natural obstacle like a river or a
lake, there is something called Uruguay, Argentina,
or Paraguay on the other side.
Clearly, to that extent the Biennial itself is already
another country with the danger of its own
frontiers. The question revealed that, as artists,
we are generally addressing a very particular
public, an abstraction that tends to engage with
an intellectual sector of the middle class. That is a
definition that creates frontiers and excludes most
of the potential public. However, the teacher’s
definition of the public is inclusive, encompassing
all those present.
The fundamental task of this symposium is to see
whether we can expand the definition of public
as much as possible and depart from artistic
classicism. To see if we can break down frontiers
and unite this public without curtailing creativity.
And to this end, more than working together, we
have to be able to convert ourselves into artist
educators and educator artists, to the extent that
everyone, absolutely everyone, is working in the
same direction.
1 It is interesting to point out here that the Biennial
mediators have created their own community.
Spontaneously and independent of the Biennial
administration, the mediators have created their
own blog for exchanging news and opinions, they
have started publishing a newsletter in which they
indicated that the term “mediator” came from
Vigotsky’s theories on education and knowledge,
they have created their own exercises for visitors
and some of them have begun to make art
interventions in the city.
2 Simon Sheik “Public Spheres & The Functions
of Progressive Art Institutions”, Republic Art,
February 2004.
3 Santiago Eraso, “El maestro ignorante”, Diario
Vasco, July 13,, 2007.