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MANIFESTA HAS ALWAYS come across as a complexly sensitized biennial, reactive not only to the morphing state of post-Wall Europe--the crucible in which it was conceived in 1991-but also to itself. The so-called European Biennial of Contemporary Art has leaped, in its itinerancy and self-reinvention, from the city of Luxembourg's affluent avenues (Manifesta 2, 1998) to Ljubljana, Slovenia, then in proximity to ethnic violence (Manifesta 3, 2000). It has temporarily abandoned, at different points in its history, its theme-driven approach (Manifesta 4, Frankfurt, 2002) and its overwhelming fealty to young artists (Manifesta 5, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, 2004). Most recently, in the case of Manifesta 6, intended for Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2006, it has ventured too close to the political...
