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

John Gerrard, IE

John Gerrard, Farm (Council Bluffs, Iowa), 2015 © John Gerrard / Photo Courtesy: Pace Gallery. Collection Bernhard Chwatal, Vienna

Video simulation at Palazzo Ajutamicristo

For Manifesta 12, Irish artist John Gerrard created a portrait of a major data centre in the US. The building depicted was created by the company Google to house many many thousands of internet servers and to process a significant portion of the global information load. Working with a team of modellers and technicians, the artist made the hyper-realistic simulated structure by hand.