COLLECTIVELY
A forum on the art of thinking, working and living together. Organized by Iaspis at Konstnärsnämnden in Stockholm, 24–26 May 2019.
Development of Season 2 for The Centre for the Less Good idea, Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Stella Olivie
Collectively gathers 60 to 70 participants coming from the arts and beyond, sensitive to developing new ways of working, thinking and living together. Many have developed specific tools, strategies or languages; they are often motivated by precise social concerns and research interests; through collaboration they articulate specific ethical positions and experiment with alternative forms of practice. Collectively strives to create an inclusive and diverse work group.
The forum is conceived as a self-organized sharing space: the relations between participants will be developed through various scores, instructions and protocols proposed to be tested. During the first two days (24–25 May), workshops are also proposed by 15 of the participants in the studios and spaces of Iaspis. Each day ends with a dinner, performances, screenings and talks. During these two days, the participants will also conceive a public gathering for the third day (26 May).
Collectively creates an environment to test, share, learn and unlearn different forms of knowledge and life tactics, a space to present unforeseen associations between a diversity of contemporary practices and to speculate on the hopes they generate.
If art collectives, and the various forms of collective practice in the field of culture, often understood in opposition to the artist as individual genius, echoing non-hierarchical forms of organizations and alternative ways of living, today this form is not necessarily a synonym of subversion or emancipation. Parallel to recent developments of network technologies, many collective methods and values have been assimilated by engineering, management, marketing, and by most contemporary political ideologies. It becomes necessary to inquire into how collective practices can foster better social understandings, encourage new forms of solidarity and improve living conditions for everyone.
Collectively is a concept developed by Council* and commissioned by Iaspis, curated by Grégory Castéra (co-director of Council, Paris), together with advisors Raimundas Malašauskas (independent curator), Claire Tancons (independent curator, artistic director of the Sharjah Biennial 14) and Kathryn Weir (director and chief curator of the Cosmopolis platform, Centre Pompidou, Paris).
* Council assembles artists, researchers and members of the civil society to foster better understandings of societal issues. Our curatorial programme is based on long-term ‘inquiries’ which generate exhibitions, events, publications and the production of artworks. With our fellowship programme AFIELD, we also gather and support an international network of artists and cultural producers who initiate sustainable social initiatives across the world. Council believes in the transformative potential of the arts and works towards extending its influence across other domains. www.council.art
For any questions about logistics, please write to: rb@iaspis.se
For any question about the concept, please write to: gregory@council.art