AURORA BIENNIAL 2024

AURORA’s sixth biennial exhibition is set to take place in November 2024 at Dallas City Hall and surrounding areas. Titled FuturePresentPast, it will be curated by New York City-based artist and curator Kendal Henry and Austin- and Mexico City-based curator and writer Leslie Moody Castro. Together they will work with regional and international artists to realize an expansive exhibition of technology-based public art. In the week leading up to the main AURORA Biennial event, regional artists will present their work as part of the AURORA Expanded program at various locations around the city.

“AURORA has always set the tone for brilliantly bringing communities together through their art and technology programming and biennials,” says Henry. “Leslie Moody Castro and I are committed to continuing this legacy by delivering exceptional and thought-provoking experiences that leave a lasting impression on the public.”

“My first experience with AURORA remains one of the most memorable I have ever had in Dallas,” says Moody Castro. “I am honored to be a part of a team that produces such innovative and provocative programming. I couldn’t be happier to be in Dallas again and can’t wait to see what unfolds.”
With FuturePresentPast as the biennial theme, Henry and Moody Castro are creating a narrative that looks into the past and various shared experiences of the North Texas region in order to shape our future through the present. Bridging disconnected communities, health advocacy, environmental sustainability, and cities transforming as a result of displacement and migration are some of the topics that will be addressed in the upcoming biennial.

"AURORA 2024 will bring back our city's largest free public art event, continuing a 15-year mission ignited by a pair of Dallas artists and a civic leader who envisioned a future where North Texas would become a cultural capital for art and technology,” says AURORA Co-Founder/ Executive Director Joshua King. “Our aim is to inspire a more accessible future where anyone, from any background, can have transformative and meaningful experiences with public art."

Participants of the 2024 AURORA Biennial are a diverse group of emerging and renowned artists who will experiment with sound, site-specificity, interactivity, and the digital. Through a unique, multi-sensory exhibition experience, they will propose new and varied perspectives on societal issues and engage the audience in enriching dialogues on our shared past, present, and future.

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2024 Curators

Kendal Henry is a New York City-based artist and curator who has over 30 years of experience in the field of public art. Through his projects, he illustrates that public art can be used as a tool for social engagement, civic pride, and economic development. He’s currently the Assistant Commissioner of Public Art at the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and an adjunct professor at NYU, as well as a guest lecturer at various universities and educational institutions including Pratt Institute and Rhode Island School of Design. Kendal served as the Director of Culture and Economic Development for the City of Newburgh, as well as the Manager of Arts Programs at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit. He was also the Curator-at-large at the Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (MoCADA) in Brooklyn, NYC, and was elected to serve two 3-year terms on the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network Council.





 

PAST BIENNIAL VIEWS

To get a taste of past events, check out our AURORA 2018: ‘Future Worlds’ trailer: