Independent Biennial is a visual production and contemporary illustration platform, exploring the miss-fitting nature of illustration medium, its authors and works. The platform is mapping, archiving and promoting the contemporary visual production and its authors that is many times overlooked by institutions of art and design. This miss-fitted independent production plays a crucial role in visual influence that it has on a development of a certain visual culture era and must be saved, protected and kept as a glimps of memories for generations to come.
The generally accepted concepts of illustration have been surpassed by modern creative practices long ago. The non-responsiveness of the expert public pushed an entire generation of young artists to the margins of artistic communication. The Biennale of Independent Illustration, established in 2007, emerged from a need to redefine these long-established concepts with a fresh eye, and to create an open dialogue on the questions of the contemporary visual art and culture.
The Biennial expresses its marginal status and specifics through the horizontal selection of authors who implement a wide range of visual practices. What makes the Biennial unique is that authors from each Biennial then take on the role of curators for the following edition. The Biennial is a periodic event that investigates the fields and contexts of the use and application of modern illustration in the world today. It was created to support and foster direct authorship, and to promote the authors of such works.
In twelve years since its inception, we have witnessed a great development in the evolution of creative independent visual production that we will continue to map and promote at home and internationally.
The Independent Biennial is initiated by 3rdHand / Tretaroka is a non-governmental organization formed by a group of creative individuals interested in socially engaged projects using art and design to investigate them. The organization initiates these projects following the belief that social initiatives play a crucial role in overcoming uniformity and in encouraging diversity in any society. The teams behind Tretaroka have backgrounds in design, art, cultural politics and social sciences. Tretaroka organization is accommodating and running the Contemporary Illustration Biennial platform (since 2007 – www.bienaleneodvisnih.com), Design Biotop platform (since 2012 – www.designbiotop.si/en) and collaborates with open minded partners across platforms.