El Museo’s Bienal: The (S) Files 2011 is El Museo del Barrio’s sixth biennial of the most innovative, cutting-edge art created by Latino, Caribbean and Latin American artists currently working in the greater New York area. This year’s edition spreads all over the city, showcasing a record 75 emerging artists in seven different venues.

Aiming to expand the definition of contemporary Latino and Latin American art, The (S) Files 2011 takes on a broad exploration of the visual energy, events and aesthetics of the street. While considering the more conventional understandings of street art such as graffiti and mural painting, The (S) Files 2011 extends the definition of street art by also considering non-traditional art objects as well as works from other disciplines, including music and fashion.

The (S) Files 2011 explores how the boundaries between public/private and personal/universal are blurred by urban culture and examines the street as catalyst for change in mainstream culture. The exhibition looks at how these social borders mix and dissolve in urban environments, and how artists use these social alterations as points of creative departure.

Among the themes developed in The (S) Files 2011 are the influence of early New York street art movements, text and urban styles, and the creation of art works from urban debris. The variety of issues addressed by the artists range from daily life situations, to social behaviors, to economic distress.