4th ARS BALTICA Triennial of Photographic Art
(2007 02 05 12:18)
The 4th ARS BALTICA Triennial of Photographic Art Don’t Worry – Be Curious! presents photographs, videos and installations by 20 artists from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea, works that address the problems and fears resulting from upheavals in present-day society. Don’t Worry – Be Curious! comprises not only an exhibition, but also a conference; lectures accompanying the venues, and an artist-in-residence program for some of the artists who will develop new works in the participating countries.
Click here to see the photogallery of the artists.
Europe’s social, political, and economic reality is currently marked by restructuring processes that have led to a collapse in a continuity of location, a volatility in stable social relationships, and increasing individualization, on the one hand, and growing unemployment, passivity, and disenchantment with politics, on the other. These upheavals are predominantly experienced by West European countries as a crisis of the welfare state, while in East European countries they appear to be the result of socialism’s displacement by a capitalistic economic order. Despite diverse historical backgrounds and other social contexts, the sensed threat provokes similar reactions here as well as there; fear of social impoverishment, of a loss of identity, and of an uncertain future are the effects of globalization. In addition to this is the growing fear of the “foreigner” and the increasing desire to exclude the “other.”
The exhibition assumes that art can offer impulses and inspire reflection on participation and the power of agency. Invited artists' practice is based on the exploration of their social environment and on the creation of a platform for critical thought. The artists deal with diverse thematic fields such as migration politics, ideas of “normality” and “differentness,” the mechanisms of understanding and misunderstanding, social fears, the instrumentalization of religion, or the construction of national identities. The works – some created especially for the exhibition – are the result of long-term processes with which the artists examine local contexts, incorporate experiences and the creativity of voluntary participants, or execute apparently absurd actions that provoke a response from observers. The idea is to initiate processes of reflection that encourage self-determined action and inspire open exchange with others.
The project is under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein and is supported by the programme Culture 2000 of the European Union, the German Federal Cultural Foundation, and several institutions from the participating countries.
Artists: Petra Bauer (SE), Anna Baumgart (PL), Bodil Furu (NO), Olga Chernysheva (RU), Colonel & Khaled D. Ramadan (DK), Kaspars Goba (LV), Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen & Tellervo Kalleinen (FI), Kristina Inciuraite (LT), Sven Johne (DE), Talleiv Taro Manum (NO), Tanja Nellemann Poulsen (DK), Anu Pennanen (FI), J & K (DE/DK), Katrin Tees (EE), Alexander Vaindorf (SE), Arturas Valiauga (LT), Julita Wójcik (PL)
Curators:
Dorothee Bienert, (Berlin), Kati Kivinen (Helsinki), Enrico Lunghi (Luxembourg)
Venues:
Stadtgalerie Kiel, Germany: 31.03.-28.5.2007
KUMU – Estonian Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia: 10.08- 30.09.2007
Pori Art Museum, Pori, Finland: 12.10.2007 - 20.01.2008
Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst e.V (NGBK), Berlin, Germany: 09.02-16.03.2008
See the event's website for details.
Opening: at Stadtgalerie Kiel March 30, 2007, 7:00 pm
Press conference: March 29, 2007,11:00 am
Publication An exhibition catalogue will be available with essays by Anders Eiebakke, Boris Kagarlitsky, Simon Sheikh, Hito Steyerl, Audrone Zukauskaite, and others.
Contact: ARS BALTICA Office of Stadtgalerie Kiel, Leuschnerdamm 13, 10999 Berlin