[spectre] SYMPOSIUM ON CRITICAL DOCUMENTS 15-17 SEP

[Geert Lovink]

SLOWLY LEARNING TO SURVIVE THE DESIRE TO SIMPLIFY: A SYMPOSIUM ON 
CRITICAL DOCUMENTS
 
15-17 September at Iaspis in Stockholm.
Invited participants include Ronny Ambjörnsson (Professor Emeritus, 
Department of History, Umeå University), Matthew Buckingham (Artist, 
New York), Carola Dertnig (Artist, Vienna), Emma Hedditch (Artist, 
London), iQuindici (writing/reading collective, Rome), Stefan Jonsson  
(writer, scholar and literary critic at Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm), 
Jee-Eun Kim (artist, Seoul/Malmö), Åsa Linderborg (Assistant Professor, 
Department of History, Södertörn University College), Svebor Midzic 
(Deputy Director, Film Centrum Serbia), Rabih Mroué (Artist, Beirut), 
Patrik Sjöberg (Assistant Professor of Film Studies, Karlstad 
University) and Hito Steyerl (artist, film maker and writer, Berlin).
Participants from various fields such as art, film, media criticism and 
political theory will discuss the structure of narratives and the 
construction of history. What stories are not given space in today’s 
society and what alternative strategies exist for the production of 
images? One of the aims is to discuss the media’s increasingly 
monopolized representation of reality, and its correlation to the art 
world’s present interest in the political. In light of today’s 
political and cultural climate, there is once again a need to raise 
questions about how stories are constructed and what effects they have. 
What are the possibilities and the risks of using art as a way to 
satisfy a need for “critical documents”? What are the rights and 
responsibilities of the storyteller? The symposium takes place within 
an installation by artist Olivia Plender (London). For further 
information, please see: www.iaspis.com 
To participate in the symposium, please register by sending an e-mail 
to: at at iaspis.com, or call Iaspis at +46 8 402 35 76. Please note that 
seats are limited. When you have registered and received a 
confirmation, a reader containing information and contributions by the 
speakers will be sent to you.
A film program introducing the topics of the symposium will be screened 
at the following venues:
23 and 24 August at Soria Moria/UKS in Oslo, www.uks.no
1 and 2 September at the exhibition space rum46 in Århus, www.rum46.dk
6 and 13 September at the Goethe Institute Stockholm, 
www.goethe.de/stockholm
11 and 12 September at CirkulationsCentralen in Malmö, 
www.cirkulationscentralen.com (Date TBA) Galleri Box in Göteborg, 
www.galleribox.se
See websites of each venue for further information.
The symposium is initiated and compiled by Produktionsenheten (The 
Production Unit). It is supported and produced by Iaspis and Nifca.
Produktionsenheten is a network of artists working with documentary 
storytelling, media criticism and narrative experiments. The project 
focuses on a critical analysis of history writing, and how narratives 
and investigative journalism are used for political motives. 
Produktionsenheten includes: Petra Bauer, Nanna Debois Buhl, Kajsa 
Dahlberg, Johanna Gustafsson, Sara Jordenö, Conny Karlsson, Runo 
Lagomarsino, Ditte Lyngkær Pedersen and Ylva Westerlund.
For more information please contact ellen.wettmark at nifca.org, +358 9 
686 43 102
or at at iaspis.com, +46 8 402 35 76.
People under the age of 36 living in a Nordic country outside of Sweden 
in need of financial support for travel costs have the possibility of 
applying for a Sleipnir grant. For more information visit: 
www.sleipnirgrants.org 
The project is supported by Nordisk Kulturfond.