The 15th Havana Biennial, themed Shared Horizons, aims to explore fields of knowledge, expectation, and love that unite humanity. Running until February 28, 2025, this year’s edition seeks to transcend disciplinary boundaries, redefining art within social and cultural dimensions. Organized by the Wifredo Lam Contemporary Art Center, the biennial provides an international platform to highlight art from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
The “City Scents Series”
One of the biennial’s standout performances is by a Turkish multidisciplinary artist. Nihat Özdal’s work, presented at Acacia Art Gallery, transforms art into a multisensory journey. The artist’s City Scents Series, which previously captivated audiences in cities like Baghdad, Berlin, and Tokyo, makes its debut in Havana, offering viewers an unforgettable experience.
By merging Havana’s unique atmosphere and history with evocative scents, Özdal constructs a sensory city memory. He describes his creative process as follows: “I incorporated fragments from Havana’s streets, tobacco leaves, rum, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, and coconut. These notes embody the essence of the city. A journey is more than what we see; sometimes, we overlook the role of the nose in our explorations.”
A City Through the Senses: Havana Scent
During the performance at Acacia Art Gallery, visitors experienced not just a scent but also the narrative of Havana. Reflecting the city’s unseen, sensory dimensions, the Havana Scent installation left an indelible mark on the audience’s memory. The work’s immersive nature bridges Havana’s past, cultural dynamics, and everyday sensory traces, creating a unique connection between visitors and the city.
Historical and Cultural Layers of the City
The Shared Horizons theme of the Havana Biennial underscores solidarity and the deepening of connections between humanity and nature. Özdal’s Havana Scent aligns perfectly with this vision by exploring the theme on a sensory level, uniting people through the shared experience of scent. His performance resonates with the biennial’s mission to foster closeness among communities and integrate art into daily life.
This year’s biennial extends beyond gallery walls, encouraging artists to collaborate with local communities and make art an integral part of life. Özdal’s work stands out as a powerful example of this collective creation process. By reimagining Havana’s scent as a sensory map, he invites visitors to rediscover the city’s historical and cultural layers through the evocative power of smell.
