However one views the 18th International São Paulo Bienal, mounted under the appropriately broad title "Man and Life,” one thing is certain: as an event, this second oldest of all international biennial exhibitions (it was established in 1951, by private endowment) is of extraordinary importance for the Brazilian media landscape and provides an invaluable platform for artistic development on the Latin American continent.

Latin American artists’ knowledge of international contemporary art comes, to a very large extent, through the critical media; thus each Sao Paulo Bienal becomes a litmus test