[artinfo] Fw: manifesta 6 out of cyprus

[kisspal]

> 
> June 4, 2006
> 
> 
> 
> CURATORS REPLY TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY NFA
> 
> (NFA - bold, Curators - Italics)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ANNOUNCEMENT BY NFA
> 
> 
> 
> The President and the Board of Nicosia for Art Ltd.
> wish to make the
> 
> following public announcement:
> 
> 
> 
> 1. The Nicosia Municipality through Nicosia for Art
> (NFA) undertook the
> 
> organization of Manifesta 6, the European Biennial of
> Contemporary Art in
> 
> Nicosia. To this end the Municipality signed
> respective agreements with the
> 
> International Foundation Manifesta (IFM) and a team of
> 3 Curators (Mr.
> 
> Florian Waldvogel, Mr. Anton Vidokle and Mrs. Mai, Abu
> ElDahab).
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed.
> 
> 
> 
> 2. During the implementation of the organization,
> which was initiated in
> 
> 2004 a number of problematic issues had arisen for the
> resolution of which
> 
> NFA and its Board have spared no effort.
> 
> 
> 
> NFA made no effort to find resolutions, propose
> compromises and showed no willingness to cooperate in
> any way.
> 
> 
> 
> 3. Recently and contrary to the original concept of
> the Manifesta 6 program
> 
> the Curatorial team insisted in the establishment and
> operation of an
> 
> essential part of the Manifesta 6 school in the
> occupied part of Nicosia.
> 
> 
> 
> Not true: since the beginning of the project we
> consistently maintained that Manifesta 6 School will
> be located in various venues in the entire city of
> Nicosia. Every part and venue of Manifesta 6 school is
> essential.
> 
> 
> 
> 4. Through relevant correspondence, NFA and its Board,
> have made clear from
> 
> the outset that the establishment and operation on a
> permanent basis of an
> 
> essential part of the school in the occupied part of
> Nicosia apart from
> 
> being in conflict with certain aspects of Cyprus and
> International Law, was
> 
> also outside the ambit of the terms of the respective
> agreements and in
> 
> breach of NFA's contractual right to have autonomy in
> making decisions of
> 
> this kind. The above was a major obstacle in the
> continuation and the
> 
> realization of Manifesta 6.
> 
> 
> 
> Not true: since the beginning of the project Mr.
> Toumazis, Mr. Zambelas and Ms. Michaelidou
> consistently maintained that operation of venues in
> the North is fully possible and desirable. To
> emphasize this further, at a meeting with
> representatives of IFM board in Nicosia, Mr. Zambelas
> showed all of us his photo with Mr. Kutlay Erk (cover
> of a UN publication) and said that they are good
> personal friends and unofficial collaboration is fully
> possible. In May 2005 Yiannis Toumazis took Anton
> Vidokle and Florian Waldvogel for a meeting with Mr.
> Kutlay Erk at his office in the north to specifically
> discuss possibility of having Manifesta 6 venues on
> that side of the city. Starting late summer 2005 Mr.
> Toumazis authorised Constantinos Filiotis to conduct a
> research of various vacant buildings/spaces in the
> north and compile a map (see attached photo) and
> archive documentation on these possible venues. In
> early November a 4 story building belonging to Onar
> family was visited and discussed, a price was quoted.
> >From December onwards a house belonging to Zincir
> family was under discussion, blue prints were
> obtained, property deed presented and price quoted.
> 
> 
> 
> No specific Cyprus or International law was ever cited
> to the curatorial team that could directly or
> indirectly prohibit renting any of these buildings for
> Dept. 2.
> 
> 
> 
> The past precedents of five Manifest editions and our
> current curatorial contract clearly assigns to the
> Curators the task of selection of venues, not the Host
> (NFA). (see Curatorial contract paragraph 1.3).
> 
> 
> 
> 5. NFA made repeated efforts to lift the above
> deadlock calling upon IFM
> 
> for a discussion of the issues involved. NFA also
> called upon the
> 
> Curatorial team to engage in mediation in accordance
> with the terms of the
> 
> Curators' contracts.
> 
> 
> 
> Not true: All efforts to produce a compromise or a
> solution were initiated by Curators and NFA. As the
> process bogged down after the Coffee Break Conference,
> on 16 of February, 2006, Florian Walvogel travelled to
> Tallin to a meet with the board of IFM and Yiannis
> Toumazis to discuss the problems, Toumazis claimed a
> gym accident and failed to attend the meeting. On
> March 11, Martin Fritz - a board member of IFM, on the
> request of Curators travelled to Nicosia to meet with
> Toumazis and Curators in attempt to mediate the
> serious disagreements. On March 25 IFM organized a
> meeting with Toumazis, Curators and IFM board Members
> in Berlin in yet another attempt to resolve the
> problems. On May 12 Hedwig Fijen came on an emergency
> visit to Nicosia to attempt to find a compromise
> solution with Mr Zambelas, Finally on May 26 Florian
> Waldvogel and Nicolas Efstahiou met for an official
> mediation meeting in Nicosia as provisioned in the
> contract. All the meetings were initiated by Curators
> or IFM and none produced any solutions or a compromise
> as the position of the Host was categorically
> intransigent.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 6. IFM declined to engage in immediate talks with the
> purpose of lifting
> 
> the existing deadlock; the Curators also rejected any
> form of mediation.
> 
> The above facts together with IFM's decision in
> disputing NFA's contractual
> 
> right to have full autonomy in the decision with
> regards to the place of
> 
> establishing and operating the school and of the
> Manifesta 6 program in
> 
> general, led to an essential deadlock.
> 
> 
> 
> See reply to point 5. NFA has no contractual autonomy
> as the selection of venues is up to the Curators.
> Under our contract NFA's responsibility is to
> facilitate rental and maintenance of such venues. (see
> contract paragraph 1.3)
> 
> 
> 
> 7. At the same time the Curators by way of statements
> to the Press and with
> 
> written comments in the forum of the official website
> of Manifesta 6, made
> 
> every effort in creating a political issue out of a
> purely legal matter. In
> 
> addition to this, IFM's official statement that it
> would unilaterally make
> 
> the necessary arrangements for the operation of the
> Manifesta 6 school in
> 
> the occupied part of Nicosia gave the Curators the
> "necessary" support in
> 
> disputing NFA's contractual rights and to continue in
> their effort to
> 
> create a political issue out of a purely cultural
> event.
> 
> 
> 
> The Curatorial contract does not include a
> confidentiality clause or any expressed prohibition
> about speaking to press. We have done so in numerous
> interviews, presentations and conferences for the
> duration of the project.
> 
> 
> 
> The issue was politicized exclusively by the NFA
> insofar as they insist on prohibiting venues in the
> north on political grounds: refusal of some of the
> Greek Cypriots to cross a check point, produce a
> passport in Nicosia, have a visa paper stamped. We
> deeply respect individual political views held by all
> Cypriots, but maintain that these are individual
> decisions that prevent them from crossing, not laws of
> Cyprus or International Laws. The curators recognize
> that this is an issue and planned to find creative
> ways of addressing it in the project.
> 
> 
> 
> 8. NFA considers the above actions of the Curators and
> of IFM as unilateral
> 
> breaches of fundamental terms of their respective
> agreements with NFA. In
> 
> addition NFA considers as unacceptable the effort of
> assigning political
> 
> dimensions to a cultural event, which had as one of
> its primary aims the
> 
> creation of a platform of cooperation between the two
> communities in
> 
> Cyprus, within a spirit of solidarity and common
> understanding.
> 
> 
> 
> The breach of conrtact is clearly an action taken by
> NFA as it unilaterally and arbitrarily fired the
> Curatorial team on June 1st, and cancelled Manifesta 6
> on June 2, thus breaching its obligations under its
> contract with IFM.
> 
> 
> 
> Regarding political dimensions, please see reply to
> point 7.
> 
> 
> 
> 9. As a result, having exhausted all the possibilities
> to lift the ensuing
> 
> deadlock, NFA with a view of protecting its
> contractual rights and in an
> 
> effort to avoid organizing Manifesta 6 in
> contravention of the prevailing
> 
> legal framework and the provisions of the respective
> agreements, terminated
> 
> its agreements with IFM and the Curators Mr. Florian
> Waldvogel, Mr. Anton
> 
> Vidokle and Mrs. Mai Abu ElDahab.
> 
> 
> 
> This is completely wrong as per all the replies to the
> above points.
> 
> 
> 
> 10. In order to safeguard its legal rights NFA has
> instructed its lawyers
> 
> in Cyprus and in The Netherlands Zomenis & Leontiou
> and Houthoff Buruma
> 
> N.V. to take all necessary steps to claim damages
> against both IFM and the
> 
> team of Curators.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> no comment.

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