Manifesta purposely strives to keep its distance from what are often seen as the dominant centres of artistic production, instead seeking fresh and fertile terrain for the mapping of a new cultural topography.

Manifesta 13 Marseille was one of the only international biennials to take place during the global pandemic COVID-19, the biennial ended earlier than planned due to the second national lockdown

Babi Badalov, AZ

Babi Badalov is a traveler, a forced nomad originally from Azerbaijan. His visual poetry appears in the form of diary-dense drawings and collages, combining artistic-linguistic research and commentary on manipulated media imagery. The horror vacui drawings in Manifesta 8 comment on the everyday on a micro-scale - including art, personal politics, the status of the immigrant, experiences with homophobia - and on a macro-political level.