The Art of Belonging

“Chapter 9: The Art of Belonging” accounts for Manifesta's investment in the city of Rotterdam as the formerly industrial city worked to forge a new identity in an era of economic globalization. It draws from close analysis of materials produced by local art collective NEsTWORK in response to their exclusion from the exhibition, with special emphasis on a project by the BAD Foundation. The chapter shows how, although the art biennial initially failed to represent Rotterdam's artistic diversity by limiting its alliances to established cultural institutions, it ultimately acknowledged cries for inclusion articulated by a fraction of the local art community.