PUBLICATIONS
London Art Biennale 2025: Cultural Diplomacy in Action
Yulia Sysalova
Curator, art critic, member of AICA, and founder of the Online School of Art Communications
@julietath
Curator, art critic, member of AICA, and founder of the Online School of Art Communications
@julietath
From July 16 to 20, 2025, the seventh edition of the London Art Biennale took place in the heart of Chelsea, within the historic Chelsea Old Town Hall on King’s Road. This exhibition has rightfully earned its reputation as one of the most inclusive and dynamic international art platforms.
This year, the large-scale event brought together 350 artists from 60 countries, offering them a space for dialogue, visual experimentation, and professional recognition. The biennale was curated to a museum-level standard, designed to give visitors a rich, diverse, and yet conceptually cohesive experience.
This year, the large-scale event brought together 350 artists from 60 countries, offering them a space for dialogue, visual experimentation, and professional recognition. The biennale was curated to a museum-level standard, designed to give visitors a rich, diverse, and yet conceptually cohesive experience.
From the very first moments of the private opening on July 16, it was clear that the organizers — the Chianciano Art Museum, Gagliardi Gallery, and the International Confederation of Art Critics — had created an event where tradition meets innovation. The biennale showcased a rich spectrum of artistic movements, ranging from painting and graphics to digital art, sculpture, and applied forms.
The opening ceremony featured welcome speeches by Arian Areti, Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. Their presence added special significance to the event, reaffirming the role of art as a powerful bridge between cities and cultures.
The opening ceremony featured welcome speeches by Arian Areti, Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. Their presence added special significance to the event, reaffirming the role of art as a powerful bridge between cities and cultures.
The 2025 edition of the Biennale clearly demonstrates a shift toward visual intensity and emotional resonance, placing aesthetic experience above overt declarations. This is not a rejection of politics, but rather a rebalancing of priorities. Aesthetics emerges here as a post-ideological mediator. Elements such as color, composition, structure, and visual rhythm become universal codes of communication between artist and viewer.
The exhibition positions itself as “a bridge between genuine visual art and its audience,” and this is more than just a slogan. During public days, admission is free, the atmosphere is welcoming, and artists actively engage with visitors, sharing the stories behind their work.
The layout of the exhibition is designed not to overpower but to amplify artistic expression. The interiors of Chelsea Old Town Hall, with its vaulted plaster ceilings and historic presence, create a striking contrast with the transience and unease of contemporary art. This interplay adds conceptual and visual tension, heightening perception.
Rather than overwhelming, the experience is invigorating: each room offers a new lens, from minimalist, contemplative pieces to visual manifestos of the post-digital era. This effect is the result of both curatorial intention and a focus on artistic quality and distinctive voice in the selection process.
The exhibition positions itself as “a bridge between genuine visual art and its audience,” and this is more than just a slogan. During public days, admission is free, the atmosphere is welcoming, and artists actively engage with visitors, sharing the stories behind their work.
The layout of the exhibition is designed not to overpower but to amplify artistic expression. The interiors of Chelsea Old Town Hall, with its vaulted plaster ceilings and historic presence, create a striking contrast with the transience and unease of contemporary art. This interplay adds conceptual and visual tension, heightening perception.
Rather than overwhelming, the experience is invigorating: each room offers a new lens, from minimalist, contemplative pieces to visual manifestos of the post-digital era. This effect is the result of both curatorial intention and a focus on artistic quality and distinctive voice in the selection process.
I’d like to highlight the participation of graduates from our online art communication school — Oxana Akopov (USA) and Marina Kulov (Germany).
Their involvement in such a prestigious international project is not only inspiring but also underscores the importance of strong, sustainable professional communities that nurture the future stars of the art scene.
Their involvement in such a prestigious international project is not only inspiring but also underscores the importance of strong, sustainable professional communities that nurture the future stars of the art scene.
Oxana Akopov and Yulia Sysalova
Oxana Akopov on participating in the Biennale:
“The Biennale is a significant and important milestone in the development of my career. First and foremost, it offers the opportunity to present my work to a broad, international audience.
Moreover, my participation affirms the relevance of the themes I explore in my work.
And, of course, it expands my professional network and opens up new prospects for involvement in future projects.”
“The Biennale is a significant and important milestone in the development of my career. First and foremost, it offers the opportunity to present my work to a broad, international audience.
Moreover, my participation affirms the relevance of the themes I explore in my work.
And, of course, it expands my professional network and opens up new prospects for involvement in future projects.”
Marina Kulov and Yulia Sysalova
Marina Kulov on participating in the Biennale:
“Taking part in the Biennale, especially one as significant as the London Biennale, has played a major role in my professional growth. This event attracts a large number of artists, curators, gallery owners, and collectors from around the world.
For me, being represented there is a great honor — a recognition of my work, a powerful motivation for further creative development, and an increase in visibility within the professional art community.
The London Biennale is also an international platform for exchanging experiences among artists, forging promising connections, and direct communication with representatives of the global art market. Immersing myself in this environment has been a unique experience.
I am confident that in the future, my participation in this Biennale will positively influence my creative and professional journey time and again.”
“Taking part in the Biennale, especially one as significant as the London Biennale, has played a major role in my professional growth. This event attracts a large number of artists, curators, gallery owners, and collectors from around the world.
For me, being represented there is a great honor — a recognition of my work, a powerful motivation for further creative development, and an increase in visibility within the professional art community.
The London Biennale is also an international platform for exchanging experiences among artists, forging promising connections, and direct communication with representatives of the global art market. Immersing myself in this environment has been a unique experience.
I am confident that in the future, my participation in this Biennale will positively influence my creative and professional journey time and again.”
The London Biennale serves as a stage where talented artists from various countries step onto a new level of recognition.
Both artists not only seamlessly integrated into the exhibition context but also presented deeply developed, conceptually mature, and emotionally rich statements.
Both artists not only seamlessly integrated into the exhibition context but also presented deeply developed, conceptually mature, and emotionally rich statements.
Marina Kulov and her work Exaltation
Marina Kulov on the work Exaltation:
“The foundation of this piece is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne in D minor. I was inspired by the astonishing depth, intense emotionality, polyphonic structure, and rich melodicism of this music, as well as the power of its ecstatic climaxes.
In Exaltation, I explore a very rare emotional state that a person experiences only once or twice in a lifetime.
It involves engaging the full emotional spectrum, leading to a profound personal transformation — a process that pushes one beyond their own limits and compels them to rise above themselves.
This work is about elevation, but not through calm contemplation or philosophy, rather through overcoming “earthly” human passions. And on this path, one can discover new, astonishing facets of existence… or fall into darkness.”
“The foundation of this piece is Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne in D minor. I was inspired by the astonishing depth, intense emotionality, polyphonic structure, and rich melodicism of this music, as well as the power of its ecstatic climaxes.
In Exaltation, I explore a very rare emotional state that a person experiences only once or twice in a lifetime.
It involves engaging the full emotional spectrum, leading to a profound personal transformation — a process that pushes one beyond their own limits and compels them to rise above themselves.
This work is about elevation, but not through calm contemplation or philosophy, rather through overcoming “earthly” human passions. And on this path, one can discover new, astonishing facets of existence… or fall into darkness.”
Life Wasted
Oxana Akopov on her work Life Wasted:
“The piece presented at the Biennale is a photograph of an actual installation.
Although it essentially captures a physical art object, for me this work stands as an independent artwork in its own right.
In my view, the combination of genres offers a fresh perspective on the object and enhances its meaning, helping the viewer perceive not just a thing, but an image.
The fact that it is a photograph makes the work portable, convenient for exhibition, and allows the idea to be scaled.”
“The piece presented at the Biennale is a photograph of an actual installation.
Although it essentially captures a physical art object, for me this work stands as an independent artwork in its own right.
In my view, the combination of genres offers a fresh perspective on the object and enhances its meaning, helping the viewer perceive not just a thing, but an image.
The fact that it is a photograph makes the work portable, convenient for exhibition, and allows the idea to be scaled.”
The dialogue between artist and viewer becomes central: the works are curated to provoke discussion and deep reflection.
The London Art Biennale 2025 serves as a mirror of our times and a testament to the fact that visual language remains the most precise tool for intercultural communication.
The London Art Biennale 2025 serves as a mirror of our times and a testament to the fact that visual language remains the most precise tool for intercultural communication.
- Oxana Akopovon how viewers from different countries perceive her work:“I’m truly glad to be part of an international project. I see that art really speaks a universal language. Although currencies differ across countries, the theme of value and its cost resonates with many and sparks a response.
Some see in the work a critique of shifting priorities within the system of human values, while others interpret it as a reflection on the pursuit of success and its possible consequences.
This makes the dialogue with the audience lively and profound.” - Marina Kulovon how her cultural background influences her artistic journey:“Moving to Germany from Belarus had a profound impact on my artistic and musical practice. This event triggered a deep internal transformation. Perhaps that’s why one of the key themes in my work is ‘change.’
In my view, when we enter a new cultural environment, we don’t so much lose our identity as transform it by integrating new cultural codes, ultimately creating a complex, multilayered fusion.
In my case, this shift involved a complete departure from traditional figurative painting toward abstraction with elements of figuration. I also began exploring ideas synthesizing color and sound.
Another important influence is communication. Engaging with diverse and inspiring artists worldwide, as well as completing a course at Yulia Sysalova’s communication school, has been a source of discovering new techniques in painting, helps me see context from fresh perspectives, and opens new opportunities for career growth.”
The works of our graduates captured the very spirit of the Biennale: a space for artistic polyphony, where personal expression becomes a reflection of the universal.
The London Art Biennale 2025 reaffirms its status as a platform for cultural diplomacy and a meeting place where tradition and experimentation, the personal and the universal, come together. Oksana Akopov’s and Marina Kulov’s works stand as compelling examples of how one can speak the language of art while preserving individuality and the power of artistic gesture.
It is precisely such events that make us feel that art today doesn’t seek an agenda — it creates one. Art exists to be seen, understood, and received by each person on their own level. And the role of the curator and critic is to help make this connection happen.
The London Art Biennale 2025 reaffirms its status as a platform for cultural diplomacy and a meeting place where tradition and experimentation, the personal and the universal, come together. Oksana Akopov’s and Marina Kulov’s works stand as compelling examples of how one can speak the language of art while preserving individuality and the power of artistic gesture.
It is precisely such events that make us feel that art today doesn’t seek an agenda — it creates one. Art exists to be seen, understood, and received by each person on their own level. And the role of the curator and critic is to help make this connection happen.