1 SHARJAH BIENNIAL 12: “THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE POSSIBLE” (VARIOUS VENUES; CURATED BY EUNGIE JOO WITH RYAN INOUYE) This biennial had three unique attributes: Its art could be seen in the time of a “normal” visit, it was exceedingly well curated, and it was beautifully installed. Joo and her team lived and worked in Sharjah, and it showed. Artists were intelligently matched to offsite locations (Abraham Cruzvillegas in the Bird and Animal Market, Adrián Villar Rojas in an abandoned ice factory), well represented (the witty and poignant Beom Kim), gorgeously staged (Rayyane Tabet in the long hallway), and permitted their full complement of emotions (Rodney McMillian’s funereal cavern). Throughout, there was an implicit and diplomatic suggestion that sometimes freedom is an idea best tended to quietly.
2 TA-NEHISI COATES AND MAGGIE NELSON Coates’s Between the World and Me (Spiegel
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