Bienal Del Agua
‘The Traces Of Water’
First Edition Cascais 2026
JULY 16th – SEPTEMBER 6th
Biennial
Concept.
More than an exhibition, Bienal Del Agua is a universal cultural platform that inspires reflection, creativity, and cooperation in preserving water as a shared heritage for future generations. It demonstrates how art, knowledge, and sustainability can unite nations through common sense and innovation.
It is a multidisciplinary artistic event grounded in promoting diverse artistic expressions connected to water. While the Biennial may take place in different cities or countries, it remains guided by water as an essential element of sociocultural life—one increasingly impacted within our ecosystem and deeply linked to all anthropological and sociological dimensions: ways of living, socioeconomic frameworks, and ethical and social responsibility.
Humanistic
Encounters.
To position the city as a privileged international hub for observation, reflection, and research into creative, cultural, and scientific languages related to water—and its practical dimension in managing this natural resource for the benefit of citizens’ quality of life.
This vibrant experience across Portuguese territory is framed through the lens of communication between programmed languages—the new world we inhabit, with tangible expectations of human development and social progress.
President of the board of directors
of the D. Luis I foundation.
Salvato Teles de Menezes
Biennial Director.
Consuelo Ciscar Casaban
General Curator.
Demetrio
Paparoni
General Coordinator.
Júlio
Quaresma
The Objectives.
Cultural.
Bienal Del Agua creates a space for dialogue between art, science, technology, and society, where artistic creation acts as a driver of awareness, transformation, and action. Art thus becomes a powerful tool, capable of awakening consciousness, fostering critical thinking, and mobilizing citizens.
Educational.
Bienal Del Agua is not merely an exhibition event, but a living platform for thought, research, and action, aimed at generating a real and lasting impact on society. A project with a legacy-driven vision, understanding culture and art as essential forces in building a more equitable, sustainable, and human future.
Evironmental.
To open a sincere and constructive dialogue on sustainability, environmental respect, and the efficient management of water and sanitation—offering realistic solutions to the challenges institutions must address regarding a natural resource that is scarce and complex to manage.
Strategic.
Bienal Del Agua is conceived as an international contemporary art biennial with the ambition of becoming a global benchmark in sustainability, humanitarian action, and social commitment—placing water at the center of contemporary artistic and cultural thought.
Exhibition spaces.
Estoril Congress Center
Curated by Demetrio Paparoni
Marina Abramović, Aryz – Octavi Arrizabalaga, Jordi Bernadó, Monica Bonvicini, Alexander Brodsky, Maria Brunner, Geneviève Caron, Chen Ting-Jung, José Cosme, Ian Davenport, María Adela Díaz, Ding Yi, Sergio Fermariello, Carole Feuerman, Philipp Fürhofer, Regina José Galindo, Arvin Golrokh, Stefan Guggisberg, Gonzalo Guzmán, Peter Halley, Roni Horn, Aki Inomata, Liu Jianhua, Mimmo Jodice, Tadashi Kawamata, William Kentridge, Rusudan Khizanishvili, Abdoulaye Konaté, Morten Krogvold, Annette Lemieux, Lukas Liese, Robert Longo, Masbedo, Andrea Mastrovito, Melissa McGill, Marzia Migliora, Isabel Muñoz, Miquel Navarro, Samuel Nnorom, Erwin Olaf, Peter Piller, Paola Pivi, Alexander Ponomarev, Arne Quinze, Andrés Rábago García, Farid Rasulov, Anselm Reyle, Miguel Ángel Ríos, Thomas Ruff, Nicola Samorì, Regine Schumann, Gian Maria Tosatti, Guido van der Werve, Joana Vasconcelos, Massimo Vitali, Wang Guangyi, Yan Pei-Ming, Leyla Yenirce and Zhang Huan.
Cascais Cultural Center
Oliver Water Capsule
Curated by Consuelo Císcar
José Manuel Ciria, Yoko Ono, Júlio Quaresma and José Sanleón.
Cascais Art District Citadel
Curated by Margarita Aizpuru
Teresa Cháfer, Sonia Lukene, Natividad Navalón, Moisés Preto and José Villa.
Cascais Art District Citadel
ThisMustBeThePlace Gallery
Curated by Nilo Casares
Isabelle Bribosia, Peter Burke, José Guedes, Les Anartistes, Fernando Llanos, Simon Lund, Rut Massó, Xavier Monsalvatje Vich, Chiara Passa, Enrique Ramírez, Demian Schopf and Giles Walker.
NOVA University
International Congress “Hybrid Humanities: Water and humanity in the technological age”
Academic Director
of the Biennial
José Cosme
Cristina Aguado-Lidon Sancho, Filipe Becken, Manuela Johana Covini, Bastien Cuenot, Carlos Llavata, Raúl Marroquín, Gustavo Ortiz, Eduardo Palomares, Virginia Paniagua, Claudia Robles, José Teibão and Daría Trubarova.
Directors, Curators, and Contributors.
José Cosme
Academic Director
Margarida Monteiro Ruas
Curator
Nilo Casares
Curator
Margarita Aizpuru
Curator
An initiative by OliverWater
Bienal Del Agua is designed, promoted, and produced by OliverWater, in collaboration with public institutions and private stakeholders, fostering creative culture, tourism, and the responsible management of natural resources. Water is the essential element of life. A vital natural resource, a universal human right, and a shared cultural symbol that transcends cultures, territories, and generations. Water unites us all. It is memory, present, and future.