[spectre] (fwd) 1st Former West Congress, BAK/Utrecht/NL

[Andreas Broeckmann]

1st Former West Congress, Utrecht


1st Former West Congress
5 - 7 November 2009

Organized by BAK, basis voor
actuele kunst

 
					Venue: 
Ottone
Kromme Nieuwegracht 62
Utrecht, the Netherlands

<http://www.formerwest.org>http://www.formerwest.org

 
					In the 
days leading up to the twentieth anniversary of 
the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 2009, 
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht hosts the 
1st Former West Congress, which gathers some of 
the most influential curators, artists, 
theorists, and thinkers of the past two decades 
from the field of art. This is the first major 
public program of the long-term, multifaceted 
international research, education, publishing, 
and exhibition project Former West (2008-2013).

Former West aims at articulating the processes of 
the West "becoming former" that, however 
unacknowledged by the West itself, began with the 
demise of the Cold War construct of a bipolar 
world in 1989. The project is an attempt to 
rethink the West and its art out of their 
hegemonic self-narration and to propose another, 
speculative view of the history of western art 
after 1989, one evolving around significant 
social and political changes and in active 
dialogue with post-communist and postcolonial 
thought.

Through dynamic and critical exchange with 
contributors and participants, this inaugural 
Congress begins mapping the artistic and 
theoretical developments surrounding the 
problematic of the "formerness" of the West, and 
charts the practices in art through which we can 
identify and engage with the post-1989 landscape 
and its impact on cultural production. Each day 
of the Congress is framed under a general 
thematic field and is comprised of different 
formats, including keynote lectures and a series 
of conversations.

5 November 2009
The first day commences with a position paper 
delivered by the Former West curators: Charles 
Esche (director Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven), Maria 
Hlavajova (artistic director BAK, basis voor 
actuele kunst, Utrecht), and Kathrin Rhomberg 
(curator, Berlin Biennial 6, Berlin), followed by 
a response from Rosi Braidotti (director Centre 
for the Humanities, Utrecht University, Utrecht). 
This is followed by a second session entitled 
Histories and Narratives: Between the 
Post-communist and the Postcolonial (1989-2009), 
which includes keynotes delivered by Sarat 
Maharaj (art historian, Lund), Renata Salecl 
(philosopher, Ljubljana/London), Boris Groys 
(theorist, New York), and Paul Gilroy 
(sociologist, London).

6 November 2009
The second day's session, Art, its Discourses, 
and the World at Large (1989-2001-2008), is 
openend by Cosmin Costinas (curator BAK, Utrecht) 
and Georg Schöllhammer (theorist, Vienna) who 
jointly deliver the keynote. The rest of the day 
is structured around a series of conversations 
with David Riff (art critic, Moscow), Jalal 
Toufic (artist, Istanbul), Pablo Lafuente 
(managing editor Afterall, London), Catherine 
David (curator, Paris), Kerstin Stakemeier 
(curator, Berlin), Marion von Osten (artist, 
Berlin/Vienna), Stefan Heidenreich (writer, 
Berlin), Christian Hoeller (editor, Vienna), and 
Helmuth Draxler (curator, Stuttgart/Vienna), and 
concludes with a plenary session.

7 November 2009
The concluding day of the Congress, entitled 
Representations of Art in the Former West: 
Exhibitions, Art Institutions, Art Market 
(1989-2009) is opened by a keynote from Simon 
Sheikh (curator, Berlin). Further contributions 
on this day are organized as conversations 
between two interlocutors: Claire Bishop (art 
critic, London/New York) and Douglas Gordon 
(artist, Berlin); Mihnea Mircan (curator, 
Bucharest) and Piotr Piotrowski (art historian, 
Poznan/Warsaw); Thomas Boutoux (curator, Paris) 
and Okwui Enwezor (curator, New York/San 
Francisco); Nuria Enguita-Mayo (curator, 
Valencia) and Ana Longoni (art historian, Buenos 
Aires); Sven Lütticken (art critic, Utrecht) and 
Tom Holert (art historian, Berlin/Vienna). The 
day ends with a plenary session and the 
concluding remarks of the Former West curators.

The Congress continues with a series of closed 
sessions on Sunday 8 November 2009, dedicated to 
in-depth discussion on the issues and themes 
raised during the public days.

Practical Information:
The 1st Former West Congress takes place at 
Ottone, Kromme Nieuwegracht 62 in Utrecht, the 
Netherlands. All sessions of the conference are 
held in English. Further information about the 
Congress, including participation, registration, 
etc. is available at 
<http://www.formerwest.org>http://www.formerwest.org 
and 
<http://www.bak-utrecht.nl>http://www.bak-utrecht.nl 
Due to limited seating registration for the 
Congress is required, and is open until Wednesday 
30 September 2009. To register, please send an 
e-mail with contact information to 
<mailto:info at bak-utrecht.nl>info at bak-utrecht.nl.

Former West is initiated by Maria Hlavajova, 
curated by Charles Esche, Maria Hlavajova, and 
Kathrin Rhomberg, and coordinated and produced by 
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht. It is 
developed together with a team of research 
advisors: Claire Bishop, Boris Groys, Marion von 
Osten, Piotr Piotrowski, Simon Sheikh, and Georg 
Schöllhammer; and a network of institutional 
partners: Afterall Journal and Books, London 
(<http://www.afterall.org>http://www.afterall.org); 
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht 
(<http://www.bak-utrecht.nl>http://www.bak-utrecht.nl); 
Centre for the Humanities, Utrecht University, 
Utrecht 
(<http://www2.hum.uu.nl/cfh>http://www2.hum.uu.nl/cfh); 
International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), 
Amsterdam 
(<http://www.idfa.nl>http://www.idfa.nl); Museo 
Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid 
(<http://www.museoreinasofia.es>http://www.museoreinasofia.es); 
Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw 
(<http://www.artmuseum.pl>http://www.artmuseum.pl); 
and Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven 
(<http://www.vanabbemuseum.nl>http://www.vanabbemuseum.nl).

The 1st Former West Congress is realized in 
partnership with the Centre for the Humanities, 
Utrecht University.

For more information please visit 
<http://www.formerwest.org>http://www.formerwest.org.