Let's Talk Critic Art

Schedule of the main activities:

I PUBLIC EVENTS:
1. Round-tables

a) Forum Skopje - The Aftershock of the Postmodernism - June 8-14, 2009

Forum Skopje, a public debate on Skopje's contemporary architecture and related sociological issues, was held on June 8-14, 2009 in scope of the project “Let’s Talk Critic art”, with participation of Marko Sancanin from Croatia - creator of Platform 9,81 from Zagreb, and Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss from Serbia, an architect and creator of architecture studio NAO in Philadelphia, USA.

The subject of this year’s debate was The Aftershock of the Postmodernism. In this year’s edition of FS, strong emphasis was placed on the architectural critic – its development, level, impact on the decision-makers, transparency in the process of building public buildings (particularly those for cultural purposes) and all related aspects.

b) Ljubljana round-table - “Self-responsibility of artists for their position”, October 9, 2009

The round table “Self-responsibility of artists for their position” was held on October 9 at the Kino Šiška Centre for Urban Culture, moderated by Maks Soršak, and with panelists: Marija Mojca Pungerčar (Artservis), Jadranka Ljubičič (Odprta zbornica), Jurij Krpan (Asociacija), Denis Miklavčič (SUKI at Glosa), Nemanja Cvijanović (Croatia) and Dragoslav Krnajski (Serbia).

As situations in Slovenia, Croatia and Srrbia are very similar, the conclusion is that artists in these countries are underestimated, i.e. that they are acting in unequal conditions comparing to other workers employed in the filed of culture and arts.

The round table was dedicated to the status and position of the cultural workers with a special emphasis on their initiatives that attempt to improve their working conditions. The guests from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia explained the main reason for the self-organizing cultural forms on the local and national level, what their purpose is and what they have already achieved. They also talked about the circumstances of their activities and their tactics in self-organization, and also presented the extent of the dialogue established with the state or city authorities in solving the problem of the conditions of cultural production and the formal status of the artists, as well as in improving the system of social transfers for artists etc.

The aim of the round table was to inform the public about the activities of the self-organized cultural initiatives on the national and international level and to stimulate cultural workers to get connected and embark on collaboration.

Beside the round table, also was held a public interview with Slovenian artists Andrej Rozman Roza & Tomaž Dernovšek (at Project Room SCCA, Metelkova), two authors who established a successful self-organization. Although coming from different fields, their non-bureaucratic operation and unconventional activities are what they have in common. They talked about their strategies, methods, experiences and aims.

• Related links: www.labforculture.org/en/moderators/dea-vidovic/blog/57367 (in English)

www.artservis.org/obvestilo.asp?st=136 (in Slovenian)
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/324/ (in Croatian)
www.seecult.org/vest/potcenjeni-umetnici-u-ex-yu (in Serbian)

• Interviews with artists:

www.seecult.org/vest/potrebna-korekcija-zakona
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/328/
www.seecult.org/vest/preuzeti-institucije-u-kulturi
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/325/
www.seecult.org/vest/za-konstruktivni-dijalog
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/327/

*Video :
- round table vimeo.com/7682359
- public interview vimeo.com/7865606

c) Belgrade round-table - “Responsible art and culture”, December 7, 2009

The round table "Critical art and responsible culture: Without Anaesthesia!" will be held on December 7 2009 at the Goethe-Institut Belgrade (Knez Mihailova 50), organised by SEEcult.org. It will be moderated by Belgrade based independent curator and art critic Maja Ćirić, and panelists will be Vladan Jeremić (Belgarde), Nataša Bodrožić (Zagreb), Milena Kosec (Ljubljana) and Igor Toševski (Skoplje).

The aim of the discussion is questioning critical art as unforeseen impulse of dominant cultural-political paradigm and emphasizing anti-politics as an alternative to anticipated politics - direct and impotence politicization. Discussion will emphasize anti-politics which would stimulate effective responsible culture, questioning positions, praxes and models of critical art through four examples from the region - what are the impulses and intensity of critical art and responsible culture - representation or intervention? Status quo or step forward? Confrontation or manipulation? State cultural engineering or partial, but focused individual praxes?

• Related links:

www.seecult.org/vest/dometi-kriticke-umetnosti
www.seecult.org/vest/bez-anestezije-0
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/390/

• Interviews with artists and curators:

www.seecult.org/vest/car-je-go
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/391/

www.seecult.org/vest/drustvo-ne-trpi-kritiku
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/392/

www.seecult.org/vest/na-barikadama
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/393/

www.seecult.org/vest/neprekidno-preispitivanje
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/395/

d) Zagreb round-table - "the Time of Media" (Public interview: Media and culture and Open Forum of Culture Media), April 8-9, 2010

Public interview: Media and culture
Thursday, April 8th 2010 at 18hrs, club Booksa (Marticeva 14d, Zagreb)
Speakers: Dejan Budjevac (Macedonia), Saša Ćirić (Serbia), Dean Duda (Croatia), Mojca Planšak (Slovenia)

Open Forum of Culture Media
Friday, April 9th 2010. at 17hrs, club Booksa (Marticeva 14d, Zagreb)

Public interview “Media and culture” will try to analyze culture and arts contents published in commercial, public, non-profit and specialized media through examples from four countries of the region. Participants of this dynamic discussion are Dejan Budjevac (Macedonia), Saša Ćirić (Serbia), Dean Duda (Croatia) and Mojca Planšak (Slovenia) who will give an overview of the state of the space for culture in the media in the region. The discussion will be focused on evaluation of quality and ways culture and art topics are presented. The discussion, which will be held on Thursday, April 8th at 18 hours in club Booksa, will be moderated by Miljenka Buljević.

“Open Forum of culture media and journalists” aims to gather representatives of periodicals, magazines, editorial boards, programs and media for culture. The lack of space for presenting and analyzing themes from the field of culture in mass media, made us to turn our attention to different types and forms of media which are trying to present cultural and artistic contents and are paying attention on the quality. On the other hand, communication between representatives and producers of these media is very rare, and when it appears it is rather an exception than the product of systematic conducting and structural networking. For all these reasons on Friday, April 9th at 17 hours in club Booksa, in the frame of open forum journalists and representatives of media for culture will be gathered and will have the opportunity to discuss their problems, exchange experiences and start possible cooperation.

Related links:
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/vijesti/1402/
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/vijesti/1472/
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/348/ (in Croatian)
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/428/ (in Croatian)
www.kulturpunkt.hr/i/kulturoskop/429/
www.seecult.org/vest/mediji-i-kultura (in Serbian)
www.artservis.org/obvestilo.asp?st=163 (in Slovenian)

e) Skopje round-table - "A public space between solidarity and violence”, a part of the Forum Skopje 2010, May 27, 2010 (Debate Night Session Nr.2)

Public interview: Media and culture
Thursday, May 27th 2010 at 19h, National Gallery of Macedonia - Mala Stanica, Skopje, Macedonia
Speakers: Marko Golub (Croatia), Stevan Vukovic (Serbia), Nika Grabar (Slovenia) and Nebojsa Vilic (Macedonia), as moderator

The main concept of the debate theme is based on the following quote:
“Violence may be in some sense ‘encoded’ in the concept and practice of public art, but the specific role it plays, its political and ethical status, the form in which it is manifested, the identities of those who wield or suffer it, it is always nested in particular circumstances.” [W. J. T. Mitchell, “The Violence in Public Art”, pp. 37-8 in W. J. T. Mitchell (ed.) (1992) Art in Public Sphere. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.]

According to Nebojša Vilić, this quote underscores three main lines of art in open public space, related to the City of Skopje as “The City of Solidarity”. The first aspect is, certainly, the excerpt about “particular circumstances’ - the relationship between the ideological and political as the constituent of the appearance of the figurativeness (as narativeness) in the state purchases of sculptures in the central area of the city. The second aspect pertains to the notion of ‘political’ status in the public art, i.e., political as execution of politics of arts – enforcing public interest in the zone of public space. Ant the third, simultaneously joining and dividing aspect is the one related to its “ethical” status.

Skopje, as the ‘city of solidarity’ in the mid- and late-1960s, in the recent years became ‘city of violence’. Therefore, the City itself is located between the ethical status of international campaign of leftist structure of SFR Yugoslavia (we can recall: the disaster of Skopje earthquake is not measured through the number of dead only: 1 700 casualties, and the level of destruction, 85% of the central urban core, but the international community was driven to solidarity by the fact that it was the first big casualty after the WWII) and the ideological structure of the new nationalism in the new, democratic processes of transition of governing right-wing political parties.

Therefore, the debate aims to analyze this complex relationship between ideology, politics and ethics, through the relationship of the purchased (visual) art and the public open space. Then, to define the ideological, political and ethical discourse towards the City of Skopje, in the sense of discourse of the ongoing internationalization of solidarity into the right-wing (ideological) milieu. And, finally, to position the potential links between the neoliberal (responsible) individual and the conservative (nationalistic) group.

Potential guidelines:
- public art as part of the ideological planning of the city
- artistic activity in the public open space as ethical conduct of artists
- controversy of public art in the polis
- political discourse of public art, and
- critical debate about the public critical debates on art

Related links: www.forumskopje.com
www.nvilic.blogspot.com

2. Series of public interviews

It will be 8 public interviews in all four cities on themes such are awards in culture and art, art beyond system, censorship, legal process against artists and workers in culture...

3. Publishing and distributing articles and interviews on portals: SEEcult.org, Artservis.org, Kulturpunkt.hr and Forumskopje.com, as well as publishing articles and interviews in English on our portals and selected European portals, beginning of September 2009

4. Publication “Transplantation of Social Reality into Art” - during 2010, including editing, publishing and promotion in all four cities.