[artinfo] (fwd)The global art system & contemporary internationalism

[Andreas Broeckmann]

From: "Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum" <office at acafspace.org>
Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:38:31 +0200 (SAST)

The Global art system, contemporary 
internationalism and ways to challenge the 
mainstream

A two day workshop with Lucrezia Cippitelli

29th and 30th of April, 2011

Workshop Overview

Samir Amin's analysis of the concept of 
Eurocentrism traces its origins back to the end 
of the 1970s, even if it seems to perfectly 
depict the world of the early 21st century: 
"Eurocentrism is anti-universalist, since it is 
not interested in seeking possible general laws 
of human evolution. But it does present itself as 
Universalist, for it claims that imitation of the 
Western model by all peoples is the only solution 
to the challenges of our time."

Art history and the global art system are no 
exception to this ideological construction of a 
monolithic center of the world opposed to (or 
imitated by) a wide and undefined periphery. The 
artistic educational system; museums and display 
institutions; the international art system with 
its biennals, galleries, fairs and festivals: 
nothing seems to escape the Eurocentric model, 
invented in Europe during in the Modern era and 
replicated all over the world, including former 
Colonies.

The genesis of the system of the Académies des 
Beaux Arts may contain the first evidence. The 
story of the museum as an institution itself 
represents the development of the modern 
Eurocentric world, from its foundation in Rome in 
the XVI Century to the late developments of 
Postmodern Museums. The model of periodical 
international exhibitions marks another 
materialization of this notion of Eurocentrism in 
the art context.

The inclusion of non-western contemporary art in 
the "International" art system is a recent 
phenomenon, which mainly involves the development 
of a critical discourse on contemporary art and 
politics of display. The rise of dozens of 
biennales in the last thirty years corroborated 
different frameworks of values and criticism of 
contemporary art and at the same time 
strengthened the decentralization of its 
economical networks.

The workshop will focus on the Contemporary Art 
System, the legacy of Eurocentrism and the notion 
of internationalism in recent decades. Starting 
with a survey on how the art world has acted as 
an extension of a eurocentric and imperialistic 
attitude towards culture at large, we will 
analyze notions of universalism, 
multiculturalism, internationalism and new 
internationalism. The survey will give attention 
to the critiques to Eurocentric models in the art 
system from a comparative modernities 
perspective. From criticism of and by the Havana 
Biennale and the magazine "Third Text" to more 
recent experiences and statements made by artists 
and cultural producers. We will discuss the use 
of contemporary art language as a cultural 
Avant-garde according to Stewart Home's 
definition "utopian currents" . Artists as 
producers using the language of art as a medium 
of social intersection, from post-situationist 
experiences in Europe or the US, to community 
based projects in Latin America. From Tucuman 
Arde in Argentina (1968) to the Independent Video 
Collectives in Italy in the 70's (i.e. 
Laboratorio di Comunicazione Militante and 
Videobase, 1971-79).

About Lucrezia Cippitelli

Lucrezia Cippitelli, PhD, is professor of 
Aesthetics at the Art Academy of L'Aquila, a 
visiting scholar at Cornell University, and 
invited curator of the TIME_FRAME project at 
NIMK, Amsterdam and is currently working as 
consultant curator for Habana Biennale. She is 
the author of Alamar Express Lab (Rome, Gangemi, 
2007) and co-editor of Tania Bruguera (Milan, 
Postmedia, 2010).

Conditions & How to Apply to the Workshop

The workshop is free. Applicants must be able to 
follow art discussions in English and have prior 
experience in the field as an artist, art student 
or other specialist. The workshop mainly targets 
the art community in Alexandria and Cairo. In 
case the selected applicant is based in Egypt but 
outside of Alexandria, ACAF can offer a token 
stipend of 500 Egyptian Pounds towards 
accommodation and travel during the workshop 
which should be organized by the selected 
applicant him/herself. A total of 4 stipends are 
available and priority will be given on the basis 
of who submitted their application earlier. To 
apply please send a short biography in English to 
the following e-mail address: acafspace at gmail.com 
, please write WORKSHOP in the subject panel and 
include your phone number in the message. Final 
deadline for applications is 22 April, 2011.

Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum (ACAF) 10 
Hussein Hassab Street, Flat 6, Azarita, 
Alexandria, Egypt, T: +20 (0)3 4831643
E: office at acafspace.org
http://www.acafspace.org