Bergen Assembly Names Pietroiusti and Ramos for 2028

May 26. Bergen Assembly, the Norwegian art platform that runs every three years and positions itself as the opposite of a biennial, announced Lucia Pietroiusti and Filipa Ramos as convenors for 2028.

The title is specific to Bergen. Not curators. Not artistic directors. Convenors. The role is less about selecting artists and more about framing the conversation before anyone arrives. Pietroiusti and Ramos have worked together before, most visibly on projects that fold ecology into contemporary art without the usual sermon register.

Pietroiusti's recent CV tilts toward institutional ecology work. Ramos edits and writes theory, the kind that gets cited in artist statements but rarely makes it to wall text. Together they've built a reputation for platforms that feel like reading groups with better lighting.

Bergen Assembly started in 2013 as a deliberate break from the biennial circuit. Longer lead time, smaller city, no Venice parallel. The 2019 and 2022 editions leaned conceptual, favoring process over spectacle. 2028 under Pietroiusti and Ramos suggests more of the same, likely heavier on discourse, lighter on Instagram moments.

The announcement came with no theme, no artist list, no render of a pavilion. Just two names and a date two years out. That tracks. Bergen tends to avoid the six-month hype cycle most biennials run on. Whether that's discipline or just Norwegian pacing is hard to say.

Two convenors with overlapping practices and a platform built to resist the usual art-fair energy. 2028 is a long way off, but the direction is already set.