The 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art is the last one of a three part programme which started in 2011 and is funded under the Operational Program Macedonia-Thrace 2007-2013, co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and Greece. The organization is run by the State Museum of Contemporary Art, realized with the participation of the “5 Museums’ Movement of Thessaloniki”, supported by the Municipality of Thessaloniki and with the collaboration of many local institutions.

The organization aspires to be a dynamic meeting between the artists and the public that will give the latter the opportunity to discover the modern, complex artistic reality of the Mediterranean and the rest of the world. For 100 days, until late September, Thessaloniki will host at museums, exhibition venues, galleries, and monuments 14 contemporary art exhibitions with works by over 100 artists from around the world, three symposiums, a performance festival, workshops, screenings, guided tours and educational programmes, structured in the main and parallel programme of the Biennale. The Mediterranean as a field of study for modern cultural and social reality is the axis of the programme “Old Intersections–Make it New” that runs from 2011 to 2015.

The director of the 5th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art and responsible for the overall concept is Katerina Koskina, art historian & curator. Chief curator of the main exhibition “Between the Pessimism of the Intellect and the Optimism of the Will” is Katerina Gregos, art historian and independent curator. All SMCA curators, staff and many volunteers are committed on this project as well.