25 November 2017, 12:00–15:00 / Casco HQ
Join us over lunch on Saturday, 25 November as we commence the exhibition period for Army of Love and The Library of Unread Books with a performance by Heman Chong entitled Words, They, Wrote followed by a conversation facilitated by Prof. Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes with the initiators of the project-exhibitions Dora García and Ingo Niermann, and Heman Chong and Renée Staal.
With doors open from 12:00, there is a little time to view the exhibition before we start our opening program at 12:30. Taking place upstairs in the Possibility Room, a hosting space for activities and gatherings associated with The Library of Unread Books, Heman Chong presents Words, They, Wrote. This hybrid performance, which uses words written or spoken by artists throughout history, casts light on how artists make sense of their lives and their work. As Chong puts it, “This performance points to an approach taken by artists that is at the intersection of visual art and literature, further complicating the entanglements between text and image.” Given both exhibition-projects at Casco integrate text and image, Chong also reflects on The Library of Unread Books and the Army of Love for this performance iteration. Artist Dora García follows with an informal discussion on the Army of Love project that touches on the Army of Love training camp in Utrecht and Lo Inadecuado & Su Laboratorio del Amor in Barcelona that are documented in the films.
Art historian, professor, and Chair of Modern and Contemporary Art History at the University of Amsterdam, Christa-Maria Lerm Hayes responds as interlocutor to both presentations, and open the discussion with Staal and Nierman to consider some of the shared themes of the projects: access, excess, and the politics of distribution.
Around 13:30 wethen move downstairs to toast the project-exhibition openings with an early afternoon Earl Grey gin cocktail, where more informal conversations can unfold over a high-tea lunch served by vegan chef Mari Pitkänen in a special café setting. The exhibition remains open upstairs for further viewing until 15:00, and thereafter we encourage you to check out all the other activities happening around us on the day. We hope to see you and share the experience of our opening!
