The 2nd berlin biennial for contemporary art took place between April 20 and June 20, 2001.

Approximately 60,000 visitors from all over the world, including 1,800 press reps, came to see the international exhibition of contemporary art in the old Postfuhramt (old post office), the KW - Institute for Contemporary Art, the S-Bahn arches at Jannowitzbrücke and at the Allianz Treptowers.

The 2nd berlin biennial was developed and directed by the internationally acclaimed curator Saskia Bos. Using the concepts of "connectedness," "contribution" and "commitment" as a starting point, the exhibition featured selected works of approx. 50 artists from a total of 30 countries. Film and video pieces and installations that sought to explore their relationship with the viewer or attempted to interact with the public were the central subject of the exbibition.

Titled “types of lies,” the biennial fringe programme ran a series of film screenings every weekend, followed by panel discussions with selected guests. Issues debated included "corporate art," "curatorial business," "recycling the conceptual," "post national" and "digital vérité." Guest speakers included Ute Meta Bauer, Patricia Bickers, Harun Farocki, Jochen Gerz, Veit Gšrner, Hou Hanru, Christian Jankowski, Rita Kersting, Lars Kraume, Luminita Sabau, Anri Sala, Barbara Steiner, Alice Stršver, and Yoshio Takano.

A two-volume colour catalogue was published to accompany the exhibition with selected essays by Saskia Bos, Charles Esche, Daniel Birnbaum, Nicolas Bourriaud plus a series of interviews with contributing artists and a 100-page documentation of the exhibition.

2nd berlin biennial for contemporary art / artists