The inaugural Ulaanbaatar Biennale, titled “On the Horizon, Under the Moon”, opens a new chapter in the contemporary art scene, bringing together artists from across the country and around the world to engage with questions of land, belonging and collective futures. The Biennale unfolds across Ulaanbaatar with exhibitions, performances, talks and site-specific projects, running through June 20.
Curated by Tian Zhang, the Biennale is inspired by a single poetic line “on the horizon, under the moon” offered by the family of a late Mongolian poet, who has chosen to remain anonymous. This evocative phrase anchors the exhibition’s vision, a meeting point of sky and earth, of past and future, of the personal and political. It reflects both Mongolia’s vast, open landscapes and the intimate connections people hold with land as home, inheritance, and source of meaning.
The Biennale’s central themes are far-reaching. It explores ancestral knowledge systems and Indigenous land relations while also confronting ongoing struggles over land rights, environmental degradation, displacement, and diaspora. Through various forms, such as installation, video, sculpture, textile, sound, and performance, artists reflect on the historical and contemporary forces that shape place and identity.
Zhang notes that the Biennale is not only a reflection on what is lost, but also on what can be recovered and reimagined. “We ask: what can be restored at the edge of collapse?” she writes in her curatorial statement. “What might resistance look like, lit by the glow of the moon?”
Highlights of the exhibition include site-responsive works engaging directly with Mongolia’s natural and urban environments; intergenerational collaborations between artists and community elders; and commissions that weave traditional knowledge with contemporary practice. Projects address climate change, the impact of mining and development, and the tensions between urban expansion and nomadic heritage.
Unlike biennales that emphasize spectacle or market appeal, Ulaanbaatar’s debut edition leans into reflection, slowness and care. Many works involve deep engagement with local communities or extended research processes. Artists approach the themes not just as aesthetic concerns, but as lived realities, grappling with grief, resistance, resilience and imagination.
The Biennale provides a platform to ask urgent questions: Who defines land? What does it mean to belong? And how can art help us envision alternative futures?
With support from the Capital City Governor’s Office and Arts Council Mongolia, and with contributions from dozens of artists, writers, and organizers, “On the Horizon, Under the Moon” marks a bold and poetic beginning for this new biennial.
