Workshop Towards Curating as a Critical Practice
27th – 29th April 2011
Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina
Dunavska 37, Novi Sad, Serbia
Wednesday, 27th April, 18:00
Public interview: Irit Rogoff (London) interviewed by Branislav Dimitrijević (Belgrade)
Thursday, 28th April, 18:00
Public interview: Sabina Sabolović – WHW (Zagreb) interviewed by Branka ĆurÄić (Novi Sad)
Friday, 29th April, 18:00
Presentation of: Media Art Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Vojvodina, curator: Kristian Lukić (Novi Sad)
Participants: Eva Eggermann (Vienna), Nikita Kadan (Kiev), Iva KovaÄ (Rijeka), Marko Miletić (Belgrade), Noa Nahari (Prague), Gordana Nikolić (Novi Sad), Nini Palavandishvili (Tbilisi), Livia Panchu (Iasi), Jakob Racek (Plovdiv), Marlene Rigler (Vienna/Munich), Wiebke Stadler (Skopje) i Elena Veljanovska (Skopje)
A curatorial workshop Towards Curating as a Critical Practice will be held within framework of marking 10 years of Mangelos Award for young visual artists from Serbia.
The concept of the workshop: Is there such a practice as a critical curating and what would it assume? In today's conditions of cultural and knowledge production and general flexibilization and professionalization of labor, it could be said that particular figure of a curator lives its expanded role as a cultural producer. Indeed, the role of a curator in contemporary production of art&culture goes way beyond mediation of art works towards the audience, since it includes variety of activities ranging from basic conceptualizing and mounting of the exhibition, to handling complex institutional network of relationships and financial logistics. Curators' role today is expanded indeed, but that expansion also comprehends imperative to network, to improve managerial skills, to communicate and cooperate, which is pointing out a new form of professionalization in cultural field of post-Fordist labor market. That position often encompasses ambivalences which are present in practice of curating as a representational, an intermediary strategy between art world and society's power structures/institutions. On the other hand, the curatorial practice is very much involved with theoretical reflection, with knowledge and knowledge production, and it is rich with a potentiality, as a point of access to engagement in political aspects of society. Last but not least, although loaded with different influences, what should be remembered as a bottom-line of this particular practice in the art world is curator's responsibility towards audience and the public.
Two-days long workshop in Novi Sad will try to open space for discussion among younger generation of curators from South East Europe, by enrolling and challenging theoretically on what they observe and do in the field of contemporary curating, and on what could be done within that field. The workshop aims to map wider context of contemporary curating practice and to try to imagine discursive alternative strategies to it by answering the question: Is there such a practice as a critical curating and what would it assume?
Several prominent curators and art theorists will participate in public interviews within this workshop, such as: Irit Rogoff, visual culture theoretician, Branislav Dimitrijević, freelance curator and theoretician from Belgrade, Sabina Sabolović, curator and member of "What, How and for Whom?" collective (WHW) from Zagreb and Kristian Lukić, curator of Museum of Contemporary Art form Vojvodina in Novi Sad. Creating concept of the workshop and its moderation was entrusted to Branka ĆurÄić, cultural worker of New Media Center_kuda.org from Novi Sad.
Organization: DEZ ORG, Ilija & Mangelos Foundation, Remont – Independent Artistic Association and Center for New Media Center_kuda.org
Support: Erste Foundation, Foundation for Open Society, Department for Culture of Vojvodina Province, Ministry of Culture of Republic of Serbia, City of Novi Sad
kuda.org/en/mangelos-award-curatorial-workshop-towards-curating-critical-practice