Talk: Leah Gordon

The Ghetto Biennale in Haiti is an international art project that questions who gets to make art, where it is shown and how it is valued. Co-directed by British artist, writer and curator Leah Gordon, the Biennale grew from her long-term engagement with Haiti, including her photographic work Kanaval, which explores ritual, resistance and political satire. Rather than following a traditional biennale model, the project brings international artists into communities in Port-au-Prince that are often excluded from global art networks.

The Biennale explores the unequal relationship between artists from wealthier countries and those working in Haiti, particularly in relation to travel, funding and cultural exchange. Its provocative title draws attention to the tensions between different artistic and economic systems, while the project itself makes these inequalities part of the artistic process. In doing so, it encourages artists to consider privilege, collaboration and the continuing effects of colonial histories.

The *Ghetto Biennale* also challenges the growing internationalisation of the art world and its interest in marginalised communities. By working outside traditional art-world centres, the project questions whether global art can create meaningful collaboration without reproducing cultural inequalities. It becomes a space for encounter and dialogue, asking whose voices are represented and who has access to the international art world.