Beautiful World, Where Are You?

The 10th edition of Liverpool Biennial, 'Beautiful world, where are you?' invites artists and audiences to reflect on a world in social, political and economic turmoil. The title for 'Beautiful world, where are you?' derives from a 1788 poem by the German poet Friedrich Schiller, set to music by Austrian composer Franz Schubert in 1819. The years between the composition of Schiller’s poem and Schubert’s song saw great upheaval and profound change in Europe, from the French Revolution to the fall of the Napoleonic Empire. Today, the poem continues to reflect a world gripped by deep uncertainty. It can be seen as a lament but also as an invitation to reconsider our past, advancing a new sense of beauty that can be shared in a more equitable way. Over 40 artists from 22 countries are presenting work that responds to the call Beautiful world, where are you? The city of Liverpool provides the setting with its public spaces, galleries, museums and civic buildings. As an additional strand, Worlds within worlds invites audiences to explore the rich histories and stories evoked by objects and artefacts from the city’s civic collections and architecture. 'Beautiful world, where are you?' is