We are sharing the reflections and toughs of the participants written as a result of the exchange, discussions, and participation done within the “Art Spaces and Residencies” Summit, organized by Lokomotiva – Centre for New Initiatives in Arts and Culture, Skopje in partnership with Nomad Dance Academy Slovenia at Kino Kultura – project space for contemporary performing arts and culture, December 12-13, 2019. The Summit is organized in the frame of the program of Lokomotiva in Kino Kultura in 2019- programme line “Contemporary culture and public policies” and Life Long Burning Project- programme line “Performance situation room”
Our aim with the Summit is to bring together artists and cultural workers, converge two topics (art spaces and residencies) through the perspective of “spaces of common” and “spaces of interdependence”.
It is an invitation to join experiences from diverse socio-political as well as economic perspectives on those proposals.
To think and discuss what is the politicallity of such spaces and how they are pre-configured? Also, what would the critical leadership or curating at spaces of common and interdependence would mean?
We propose that we think – How to break the normative path of development of the spaces of arts and formats of work, which suggest us to model them by routine, through repetition, without confronting their presence in present.
Is this possible in clientelistic and criminalistic capitalism where the public is deeply infected with populistic, corruptive and right-wing politics?
The material infrastructure of the spaces and institutions should be secondary, thus we need to talk and think of the content, values, relations and politicallity that shapes them. We would like to think about the invisible relations that shape the spaces and formats in which we create, such as residency, but not only. What we produce in these spaces, and what are the invisible relations, which are creating the politicality and are molding the space in presence and for its future? How to make them visible?
These days we will share our experiences on the proposed perspectives and questions. Also, discuss and propose possible scenarios and think on issues as independent and interdependence, invisible relations, responsibility, care, curatorial practices of sharing, stable and flexible, funds and sustainability, clientelism as capitalism and others that will appear through the reflection….
We also would like to propose to think – how to build a decentralized institution and art residence, but also what that would mean.
And we propose to enjoy the presence of diverse perspectives, as well as present realities and future ideas.
Group 1: Art spaces
Questions: Interdependence of artists and communities? Reflection on the aspects as independent and interdependence, how invisible relations are shaping the content in the spaces, what is the responsibility of the residents and invitees?
Other issues that can be discussed are related to curatorial practices in art spaces, and how to be stable and flexible at the same time; how to oppose clientelistic capitalism through new common spaces?
Group 2: Residencies
Questions: how residences support artists’ creation, reflection, research, experimentation and interaction and crate a space liberated from the existential pressure? Working conditions are given within the frame of the residency programme – possibilities or restrictions in relation to time/space/expected outcomes? The process of programation – how artists are selected or invited – the relation between artists and hosts? What kind of knowledge is/can be produced and shared within the residency programme? What kind of residency do we need? – 1/Regional collaboration and 2/Residency programme in Kino Kultura.
The notes associated with the “Art Spaces and Residencies” Summit were written by:
- Andreas Liebmann, artist http://taarnbytorvfestival.dk/2017/ and http://www.andreasliebmann.net/home.html
- Jan Philippe Possmann, Director, Zeitraumexit Manheim, https://dutchartinstitute.eu/page/1260/jan-philipp-possmann
- Morten Goll, artist, founder of trampoline centre https://www.trampolinehouse.dk/
- Marijana Cvetkovic, cultural worker, and manager Station Service for contemporary dance, and activists, http://www.dancestation.org/station/
- Dejan Srhoj, choreographer, Nomad Dance Academy Slovenia, Cofestival Ljubljana http://cofestival.si/2019/
- Danae Theodoridou, freelance performance maker and researcher, www.danaetheodoridou.com
- Milica Ilic, cultural policy researcher and cultural manager, RESHAPE Coordinator and International Adviser at Onda
- Oliver Musovikj, freelance artist, http://cargocollective.com/olivermusovik/C
- Ivana Vaseva, curator and cultural worker, http://akto-fru.org/en/
- Filip Ivanovski, http://akto-fru.org/en/
- Slobodanka Stevcevska, OPA Collective, OPA (Obsessive Possessive Aggression) www.o-p-a.org/OPAcv.doc
- Biljana Tanurovska Kjulavkovski, Lokomotiva, Kino Kultura, www.lokomotiva.org.mk; kinokultura.org.mk; Skopje, North Macedonia
- Violeta Kachakova, Lokomotiva, Kino Kultura, www.lokomotiva.org.mk; kinokultura.org.mk; Skopje, North Macedonia
