Wednesday 27 October 2021 19:00–21:00
No RSVP; negative test-result or QR code are required
For access info visit this page
Language: English
Casco Art Institute and Club Solo proudly present Gathering amidst the ruins: on the potential of assembly within the context of art institutions, a symposium in which we jointly reflect on assembly and its potential. We are happy to welcome you to join this reflection and share knowledge together!
Assembly is a political instrument for a collective decision making process. In the representative democratic system it has become an institutional tool of rituals that is assigned to a political elite. Working for the commons, alongside many other grassroot political movements, Casco Art Institute as well as several other art organizations around the world have been organizing assemblies in alternative forms as part of their artistic and curatorial practices. While these assemblies are certainly different from what are now common practices for the art world, such as symposiums, forums, seminars, it is time to reflect on its distinguished components and methodologies. Which forms of coming together lead to an open and layered decision-making process? What happens if you choose other formats? What significance does an assembly bear, or how relevant is it for art practices today and in the future, especially if the present time might be best seen from an angle of the capitalist, patriarchal, colonial ruins? During this event organized in collaboration with Club Solo: Symposium on tour we will reflect on these questions and actively engage with criticality shaped by artistic practices that are on the cutting edge of social practice and engagement.
As a method of reflection and discussion to be generative, rather than evaluative, judgemental and reductive, the symposium will take a form of lexicon building with gathering and elaborating on the words of those that make an Assembly meaningful and artistically inspiring. Contributors include Hodan Warsame, Jeanine van Berkel, Dagmar Bosma and Tomi Hilsee. Ying Que, a member of the steering committee of the Casco’s annual Assembly, will give the introductory reflection and Philippine Hoegen is the moderator of the evening.
After the event, the audio recording and transcript will be made available. For this or other questions about access write to staci@casco.art.
Image description: side image has a submerged effect over an aerial shot of the Casco courtyard with people walking on it, with the event text flowing on top. Top image is a photo by Niels Molenaar from Ienke Kastelein, Very, Very Slow Walk in the Footsteps of Ursula, 2014. Performance as part of the exhibition New Habits by Casco Art Institute: Working for the Commons in the Abraham Dolehof garden. Credit: Funs Janssen, design, 2021.
