Art and Negotiation in Public Space

The Public Turn in Contemporary Art

santralistanbul is initiating a debate on the role of contemporary art in creative transformation and democratization of public space.


“Art and Negotiation in Public Space”
31 August – 1 September 2007

The international project “The Public Turn in Contemporary Art” - led and realized by santralistanbul in cooperation with ArtBOX.gr from Thessaloniki, University of Art and Design Helsinki from Helsinki and Maison des Métallos from Paris - is a series of activities on the role of contemporary art in creative transformation and democratization of public space. The project, realized between 31 August – 31 October 2007, brings together artists, writers, art historians and theoreticians working on the subject. The theme will be discussed in three panels, artist talks, a documentation exhibition and a book.

The activities concern the artistic practices and projects that intervene as site-specific situations with several mediums, through types of collaboration and participation within public spaces. The concept and discussions question those practices in three bases. Accordingly the first set of activities will be realized on 31 August – 1 September 2007 in santralistanbul with the participation of various artists and academicians working on art and public space. The first panel “Art and Negotiation in Public Space”; where Hou Hanru, Bik Van der Pol, Superflex, Socrates Stratis and Jörgen Svensson are invited as speakers, will focus on the investigation of the forms of collaboration, site-specifity or site-locality, participation and the art practices themselves.

This panel will focus on the participatory, site-located, collaborative nature of art practices in public space. The question here is how negotiation and encounter appear as a confrontation within the social, political identity of the spaces? How negotiation appears in cross-cultural spaces through contemporary art practices? What kind of manoeuvres do artists, who intervene the spaces with site-specific, collaborative and participatory art practices, create? How participation is possible, in what format and context?

In the first round of artist talks, the Greek artist Maria Papadimitriou will initiate a debate on T.A.M.A., which is an outstanding example of participatory art practices, realized with Roma. The French artist Jean-Robert Franco will present his projects realized by inviting various artists to work on and redefine the public space. The project is expected to create an international platform for contemporary art practices in public space.


Programme:

31 August 2007, Friday 16.00-18.00 – Artist Talks
Artists: Maria Papadimitriou, Jean-Robert Franco

1 September 2007, Saturday 15.00-18.00 – Panel: “Art and Negotiation in Public Space”
Moderator: Asu Aksoy
Speakers:
Hou Hanru – Can we talk about European Public Art ? (from Luxembourg to Istanbul)
Bik Van der Pol – Specific models for intervention in the public realm
Superflex – Flex in Public
Socrates Stratis – Encouraging publicness
Jörgen Svensson – Public Safety - Neighbourhood Secrets






Speakers and Artists:

Maria Papadimitriou
Born in Athens in 1957, she’s studied at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts between 1981-86 in Paris. She has participated in many exhibitions, and she is the leader of the project T.A.M.A. (Temporary Autonomus Museum for All) since 1998. She teaches at the Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, Greece. She lives and works in Volos and Athens.
HYPERLINK "http://www.tama.gr" www.tama.gr

Jean-Robert Franco
Artist-photographer Jean-Robert Franco is the president of ‘Le Génie de la Bastille’, an organisation of 80 artists in Paris. Jean-Robert Franco initiated in 2006 the "Génie des Jardins", an artistic event during which 40 to 50 artists "intervene" in 10 gardens of Paris, near the Bastille area. He is presently working on "dreamt souvenirs" (souvenirs rêvés).
HYPERLINK "http://www.legeniedelabastille.net" www.legeniedelabastille.net

Hou Hanru
Born in 1963 in China and moved to Paris in 1990s, Hou Hanru is a Paris - San Francisco based critic and curator; Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs and Chair of Exhibition Studies and Museology at San Francisco Art Institute. He is an advisor at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten (Amsterdam-Netherlands), visiting Professor at HISK - Hoger Instituut voor Shone Kunsten, (Antwerp-Belgium), Member of Advisory Committee of De Appel Foundation (Amsterdam-Netherlands), French correspondent of ‘Flash Art International’. Hou Hanru has been the curator of more than 50 exhibitions. He has publications in many art journals and catalogues; he’s the curator of 10. International İstanbul Biennial.
HYPERLINK "http://www.iksv.org/bienal" www.iksv.org/bienal

Bik Van der Pol
Liesbeth Bik and Jos van der Pol work collectively since 1995 as Bik Van der Pol. They live and work in Rotterdam. They explore the potential of art to produce and transmit knowledge. Their working method is based on co-operation and research methods of how to activate situations to create a platform for various kinds of communicative activities. Bik Van der Pol is invited to 10. International İstanbul Biennial as an artist group.
HYPERLINK "http://www.bikvanderpol.net" www.bikvanderpol.net

Superflex
Superflex is a group of artists established in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1993 by Bjornsterne Reuter Christionsen, Jakob Fenger ve Rasmus Nielsen. They have studied in Royal Copenhagen Art Academy, and realized many public art projects with the participation of various artists. Their work is a radical mix of humour and political interventions around issues related to the environment, world poverty and globalisation. The group has exhibited in 9. International İstanbul Biennial, San Paulo Biennial, Gwuangju Biennial.
HYPERLINK "http://www.superflex.dk" www.superflex.dk

Socrates Stratis
Born in Nicosia in 1964, Socrates Stratis is a lecturer at the Department of Architecture at the University of Cyprus. He obtained his architectural degree (BArch and MArch) in Cornell University, USA. He also obtained a DEA in University of Paris XII, and his doctorate degree in Urbanism at the University of Paris 8, France. He is one of the founders of AA+U – Partnership for Architecture Art and Urbanism, in Nicosia. His main problematics lie on establishing connections between teaching, research and practice in architecture and urbanism. He is currently working at the implementation of a winning project in Europan 4, in Heraklion, Crete, Greece and on master plans of communities in Cyprus giving emphasis on the production of urbanity in the cities. He has exhibited in the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2004, 2006). Stratis has worked on many public art projects with the participation of various people/artists from different disciplines.
HYPERLINK "http://www.eng.ucy.ac.cy/ARCH/EN/People/SStratis.htm" www.eng.ucy.ac.cy/ARCH/EN/People/SStratis.htm

Jörgen Svensson
Born in Sweden in 1958, Jörgen Svensson has worked both nationally and internationally on projects which take place in the general public forum. Many times he has also acted as curator and organizer. He is represented at The Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, Gothenburg's Art Museum, Borås Art Museum, Värmland's Museum, Kristinehamn's Art Museum, The Swedish State Art Council as well as many private collections and also in county buildings and other official administrations. He is a lecturer at Valand School of Fine Art, (Gothenburg University, Sweden) and at the Academy of Art (the Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim.
HYPERLINK "http://www.jorgensvensson.se" www.jorgensvensson.se


Küratör: Pelin Tan
Pelin Tan is a sociologist and art historian. As a writer she has contributed in the following books: Istanbul, b-books (2005); Kulturelle Topografien, Metzler (2004). The [un]common place, Actar (2005). TRACER 1-2, WdW (2004); FROM/TO, Linz müzesi (2007), Spatial Practices and Politics in Middle East, Bidoun/Moutamarat (2007). She was the 5th editor of art-ist contemporary art magazine directed by H.Altındere in 2002. Currently she is the editor and producer of Istanbul based independent contemporary art magazine Muhtelif, with A.Yıldız, A.Öğüt. In 2004, Tan was one of the curators of Tracer exhibition (Rotterdam) directed by Cathrine David (WdW) and Arno van Roosmalen (Tent). In 2006, she realized series of discussions/workshops under the title of "Alternative Art Practices" with A.Vidokle, in Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Centre. She writes for GAM, Bidoun, Untitled, Metropol M, IDEA, Springerin, Artpapers and other art/architecture magazines. Tan will work for an upcoming project on economy and space that will be realized with Secession (Vienna) in 2007. 2008 Autumn IASPIS residency.
HYPERLINK "http://www.tanpelin.blogspot.com" www.tanpelin.blogspot.com
HYPERLINK "http://www.contemporaryartinpublicspace.blogspot.com" www.contemporaryartinpublicspace.blogspot.com



Venue:
santralistanbul
Eski Silahtarağa Elektrik Santralı
Silahtarağa Mah. Kazım Karabekir Cad. No: 1
34060 Eyüp-İstanbul-Turkey
HYPERLINK "http://www.santralistanbul.org" www.santralistanbul.org
+90 212 444 0 428
Public Relations: Arzu A. Girgin I +90 212 311 53 39 I HYPERLINK "mailto:aaslan@bilgi.edu.tr" aaslan@bilgi.edu.tr




* With the support of the Culture 2000 Programme of the European Union.