BIG Genève 2021

BIG is an art biennale highlighting Geneva’s local and independent art scene. The event’s aim is to federate and engage with diverse art forms, in a democratic and horizontal approach, outside the market of art galleries or national institutions.

In 2021, Geneva’s 4th art biennale becomes uncancellable, planning every possible way so that, no matter the circumstances, it can transform, adapt, and exist. This year’s biennale is therefore called Biennale Inannulable des espaces d’art de Genève(BIG) (“Geneva’s uncancellable art Biennale(BIG)”).

The logo is set in Tomato Grotesk (Andrea Biggio), with WT Kormelink Italic (Jacob Wise) used for the date. The three letters “BIG” constitute the main element. It is followed by the tagline of the festival “4e Biennale Inannulable des espaces d’art de Genève”. Repeating and transforming the letter n, we highlighted the word inannulable (“uncancellable”). This play became the unifying thread of the communication.

The poster uses different layers. First, the orange graduated background is grained and faded, reminding of a sunset but also of sand. On top, the font is in cyan, to contrast with the background. In between, we can find “4e Biennale des espaces d’art de Genève”, present but almost wiped out. Resisting its removal, it is “uncancellable”.

The event happened at l’île Rousseau, central to Geneva’s city. Ironically echoing our times, the island was once used to quarantine imported goods from countries in high risks of infections. The space was imagined and built by the architecture collective Tarex.
The year’s theme was “the roof”, reflecting on the idea of inhabiting a space together, in a time of global pandemic. 52 artists and collectives each took over the space for 24h, over the course a month. We completed the sign design with banners, flags and tarps.

The website (www.bigbiennale.ch) was programmed by Fabien Duperrex. The homepage shows the three letters “BIG” and can be erased with the cursor, revealing the word “inannulable”.