[spectre] Victims' Symptom goes live: join the online debate on LabforCulture

[Ana Peraica]

Victims’ Symptom, commissioned by LabforCulture 
<http://www.labforculture.org/> and curated by *Ana Peraica* 
(Croatia/The Netherlands), goes live today at 
http://victims.labforculture.org <http://victims.labforculture.org/>. 
The project explores the concept and image of 'the victim' as it is used 
in contemporary society.

Is the cultural production of victims preventing us from seeing the 
actual victims? Why does the mass media prefer to talk in terms of 
numbers? Are we losing our capacity for empathy? These are just some of 
the questions explored in the Victims’ Symptom project through critical 
texts, commissioned artworks, interviews and reflections by the curator 
and a number of renowned theorists and artists.

The new Victims’ Symptom online space features texts by: *Sezgin Boynik* 
(Kosovo), *Adila Laidi-Hanieh* (Palestine), *Geert Lovink* (The 
Netherlands) and *Stevan Vukovic* (Serbia). Victims’ Symptom also 
presents a series of online artworks specifically commissioned for this 
project by: *Mauricio Arango* (Colombia/USA), *Alejandro Duque* 
(Colombia/Switzerland), *Andreja Kuluncic* (Croatia), *Marko Peljhan* 
(Slovenia) and *Martha Rosler* (USA). The texts and artworks provide the 
framework for an open online debate from 17 - 23 May 2008 in which the 
public is invited to participate alongside the Victims’ Symptom artists 
and theorists.

Victims’ Symptom was commissioned in the summer of 2007 to mark 
LabforCulture’s first anniversary. *Katherine Watson* (Canada/Finland), 
Director of LabforCulture said, "it is an online experiment that set out 
to bring critical thinkers, artists and a wider public together and to 
encourage reflection, open dialogue and debate on a compelling global 
issue."

The convergence of ideas, artistic perspectives and technologies is a 
key element of the work of LabforCulture in stimulating cultural 
collaboration and facilitating intercultural dialogue across Europe.


        Further Information:

   1. Go online http://victims.labforculture.org
      <http://victims.labforculture.org/> *The online debate runs from
      17 - 23 May 2008*
   2. Press information contact: Nicola Mullenger:
      nicola at labforculture.org <mailto:nicola at labforculture.org>
   3. LabforCulture is a partnership initiative of the European Cultural
      Foundation and is grateful for the support provided by its funders.
   4. LabforCulture <http://www.labforculture.org/> is a unique tool for
      artists, cultural professionals, organisations and networks across
      the 50 countries of Europe, and a platform for cultural
      cooperation between Europe and the rest of the world. It provides
      a wide range of linked information from funding possibilities to
      cultural news and through their open community space the arts and
      culture sector can post blogs, search contacts through the online
      profiles or simply make an announcement about an arts event. The
      site is in five languages: English, French, German, Polish and
      Spanish. http://www.labforculture.org/