An Age of Historical Ambivalence: Interview with Cuauhtémoc Medina

Cuauhtémoc Medina, currently the chief curator of the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City, was appointed curator of the 12th Shanghai Biennale barely a year before the show’s scheduled opening. Known for his collaborative working style, he assembled a team of curators from South America, Japan and China to assist with the mammoth task of putting together the exhibition. In January, he announced the biennial’s theme—“Proregress: Art in the Age of Historical Ambivalence,” which references the poetry of EE Cummings, as well as sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman’s 2017 musings on Retrotopia.

• China