[spectre] South Project Update Sept 2003

[geert lovink]

From: "The South Project" <kmurray at craftvic.asn.au>
To: "Geert Lovink" <geert at xs4all.nl>
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 10:16 AM
Subject: South Project Update Sept 2003


SOUTH PROJECT UPDATE (September 2003)

The South Project (2004-2008) is a series of events that gather together the
cultural energies of the southern hemisphere, including Africa, South
America and the Pacific. In South 1 (1-4 July 2004), participants will
gather in Melbourne to meet and compare trajectories. These relationships
will form the basis of South 2, an odyssey of artist exchanges and
exhibitions. Finally, participants will have to chance to take the measure
of this conversation in South 3 (2008), a 'homecoming' involving a
consortium of arts organisations.

NEW FACES
The South Project welcomes two new faces who will be working on the
development phase. Hannah Mathews (hmathews at craftvic.asn.au)  has experience
working on large artistic projects at the Biennale of Sydney and Ian Potter
Museum of Art. Hannah will be gathering together and following up the
expressions of interest thus far collected. Christabel Harvey
(charvey at craftvic.asn.au) was previously at the British Museum where she
organised events about Asian Art. Christabel will be focusing on the public
programming, including the previews and launches for South 1.

KEY 3 - GONDWANALAND
Leading up to South 1, a series of keys will be released that reflect
elements unique to the south. These keys are designed as prompts to assist
opening up dialogue. Previous keys were the flightless bird and foreign
trash/local treasure. The third key relates to narrative construction of the
south.

One of the compelling symbols of the south is Gondwanaland, the hypothetical
supercontinent of the Southern Hemisphere that included Africa, India,
Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and South America.  Eduard Suess, an
Austrian geologist, developed the name after the Gondwana region of central
India.

Gondwanaland is the focus for a number of contemporary projects. Southern
Connection (http://www.southernconnection.org.au) is a group of scientists
looking at revising the Linnaean system of biological classification that
the Europeans brought to the south. Environmental groups, such as Gondwana
Forest Sanctuary (http://www.gondwana.org/) and Gondwana Alive use the
hypothetical supercontinent as a symbol of collective investment in natural
resources (http://GondwanaAlive.org).

Gondwanaland is sometimes used to hang other future forms of south-south
collaboration. One writer recently used it as a vehicle for positing the
Australian dollar as an alternative to the US dollar for the region:
"In prehistoric times in the southern hemisphere, there was a continent
called Gondwanaland. We now need a Gondwanaland monetary belt to provide
developing countries with a monetary alternative of exchange-rate
flexibility." (The Age, 6/03/2002)

Gondwanaland seems a natural symbol of the South Project. It implies a once
glorious world of the south that fragmented, leaving its current inhabitants
the task of putting it back together again, at least conceptually. Gondwana
has been a rich source of inquiry for contemporary artists, interested to
trace the lost natural world across the flora and fauna of southern
continents.

But it also raises some difficult questions:

* How does the prehistoric romance of Gondwanaland relate to the
contemporary issues of Indigenous peoples?

* Why is the south so often seen as a void to be filled with imagined
worlds?

* Does Gondwana continue the ancient Greek understanding that there must be
a large land mass in the south to balance the northern world?

THE FUTURE
Later this year, meetings will be organised with Melbourne's artistic
community and potential partners for the South project. For a more detailed
timeline, see www.craftvic.asn.au/south/timeline.htm


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Craft Victoria
31 Flinders Lane
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
ph +61 3 9650 7775
fax +61 3 9650 5688
www.craftvic.asn.au
Craft writing at www.craftculture.org
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The South Project is auspiced by the Myer Foundation. This project has been
assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its
arts funding and advisory body.

Craft Victoria is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts
Victoria, a division of the Department of Premier and Cabinet. Craft
Victoria also acknowledges the financial support of the Australia Council,
the Federal Government's arts funding and advisory body.