Glossary
Coventry Biennial Glossary
Activism – Involvement in trying to achieve political or personal goals. Common examples of activism include protests, demonstrations and support groups.
Artist-led – Organisations or activities that are developed and delivered by artists, often as a form of activism, ensuring that artists’ needs are met in ways that institutions often can’t support.
Anthropocene – A term used to describe the current moment, our present-day geological period where humankind’s activity on Earth is having a significant impact on the climate and our environment.
Biennial – Biennials take place every two years and they often take the form of festivals or exhibitions, the oldest and most famous being Venice Biennale (note the Italian spelling). Coventry Biennial has previously taken place in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Biomes – The plant and animal community of a major climatic region or type of habitat.
Biota – The collective animal and plant life of a particular geographical region or period (sometimes referred to as fauna and flora).
BLK- This is a stylistic shortening of the word Black used by the BLK Art Group in the 1980s.
Capitalism – An economic and political system where trade is controlled by private companies and individuals, rather than the government.
Colonialism – The practice of taking political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically and in other ways.
Conceptual Art – Conceptual Art is a style of artwork made in the 1960s and 1970s that believes that the idea behind a piece of art is more important than the finished artwork itself.
Contemporary – A term used to describe the current moment. In the arts, it generally means artworks created since the 1960s.
Curators – Are those responsible for organising exhibitions. Coventry Biennial has a team of curators with different areas of expertise. They have also worked closely with curators from some of our partner venues.
Cyber-Feminism – The belief in women’s rights on the grounds of gender equality but particularly in the context of the internet and social and political networks.
Cybernetic – The science of communication and systems in machines and living things. The term cybernetic is often used to quickly refer to digital processes.
Epoch – A particular period of time in history or a person’s life.
Feminism – The belief in women’s rights on the grounds of gender equality.
HYPER- Hyper- can be added to any word to show that there is an excessive amount of a particular thing. A common example is hyper-active, where people are understood to have too much energy.
HYPER-POSSIBLE – This is the name of the third Coventry Biennial and suggests that Coventry, its citizens and the artists that we’re working with have an excessive amount of potential, particularly in the context of UK City of Culture 2021.
Pedagogy – Is most widely understood as the method and practice of teaching academic subjects.
Post-Colonialism – The study of the cultural legacy of Colonialism, focusing on the consequences of exploitation of people, their lands and property.