This short interview series introduces the curators of The Immigrant Artist Biennial 2026. We asked them three questions in order to gain a deeper insight into their practices and an outlook on their next projects. The third edition of The Immigrant Artist Biennial: Identity Card takes place from October 8 - November 11, 2026 across New York City.

In partnership with The Immigrant Artist Biennial

What are some of the unique opportunities and challenges in curating time-based art? 

All the works presented in The Immigrant Artist Biennial will be experienced through events rather than exhibitions. I believe that there is a beauty in experiencing time-based art collectively in an ephemeral setting. At a moment when everything is heavily documented and instantly accessible online, being able to slow down and experience art together, reflecting on it collectively, feels like a necessity to stay sane as our attention span keeps fragmenting and we remain in a constant state of involuntarily over-stimulation. While more people might ultimately see a film that is presented in an exhibition, fewer will sit down, watch it all the way through and leave with a lingering thought, feeling or be changed somehow, and isn’t this what we want from seeing art? 

At the same time, the audience’s attention shouldn’t be taken for granted during events. One of the greatest challenges for curating time-based art is finding a balance that preserves the intended discursiveness of the event without presenting it as an endurance test. Of course, some events just have to be an endurance test when the artwork requires them to be, so there are always exceptions to the rule. The challenge is recognizing the difference and presenting each event in a way that will serve the work.

What are you working on next?

I’m currently working on the fall program at e-flux. We’re starting it off with a screening and performance on September 11, 2026 dedicated to the expansive performance art, music and film legacy of Genesis P-Orridge (this is impossible to do in one event, so we might plan more in the future). We will touch upon their use of Burroughs’ cut-up technique and the Pandrogeny project that they developed with Lady Jaye. We also invited a special guest who might present a secret artwork that is unknown to the public.

The poem “Identity Card” by Mahmoud Darwish inspired the title for this edition of The Immigrant Artist Biennial. What is another poem that nurtures you in your work?

In order for me to write poetry that isn’t political
I must listen to the birds
and in order to hear the birds
the warplanes must be silent.
– Marwan Makhoul

Sanna Almajedi is a curator and writer based in New York, currently serving as Performance Curator at e-flux. She recently served as Performance Curator for the 13th Seoul Mediacity Biennale, Séance: Technology of the Spirit, held between August and November 2025. Almajedi co-curated Publishing Against the Grain–which was produced by Independent Curators International and toured institutions including Zeitz MOCAA and CCA, Lagos–and more recently curated Babel at SARA’S / Dunkunsthalle, Summer Dinner at Slip House, and Bricks of Memory, Fragments of Home, an online exhibition for White Columns.
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