March/August/November, 2016
The Royal Danish Academy
Kongens Nytorv 1
1050 Copenhagen
ART LAB: Curators from four continents explore new aesthetic practices and methods
During 2016, curators and artists from four continents exchange knowledge of how art can reclaim space and grow in new directions in cities such as Cairo, Copenhagen, Kathmandu, Jakarta and Bamako. Seminars, salons, pop-up exhibitions, talks and performances will complement ART LAB’s elaboration on methods and practices.
“We can learn a lot from the experiences of other systems than our own,” says curator Charlotte Bagger Brandt about her initial motivation to invite curators from four different continents and contexts to contribute to the development of new aesthetic methods and practices. As the Director of Råderum, she stands behind the concept and facilitation of Images ART LAB—an international curatorial intensive programme in three phases that takes place in Denmark from March till November 2016.
ART LAB is structured around the idea of the relay race, which means that the first group of participants will pass on their baton to the following participants by their own choice. The baton will physically take the shape of ART LAB notebooks with art works, theoretical material, photos, etc. Each of the three ART LABS that will be held in March, August, and November, includes public events such as talks, pop-up salons, school workshops, exhibitions and seminars.
ART LAB #1 #2 #3: Theory/seminar, material/art fair and production/exhibition
March 1, Riksa Afiaty from Indonesia, Nischal Oli from Nepal, Lassana Igo Diarra from Mali, and Sarah Defrawy from Egypt will be handed the first baton of the ART LAB curatorial intensive. In March, the four curators will team up with the two Danish artists Katrine Bregengaard and Lena Mech and follow an intensive educational programme developed in close cooperation between Råderum – Mobile Office for Contemporary Art and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.
The end of the first ART LAB will be marked by the public seminar “Positions and Voices” March 30 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. The seminar is arranged by Råderum and Images 2016 and draws on the experiences from developing the Images 2016 programme and explores the challenges of curating, exhibiting and disseminating art from non-western art scenes in a western context. The ART LAB #1 curatorial team will contribute with their experiences and perspectives.
Other panellists at the seminar include N’Goné Fall, independent curator and architect, Senegal/France; Ade Darmawan, director of the Jakarta Biennale, Indonesia; Alia Rayyan, Al Hoash Gallery, Jerusalem, Palestine; Sarah Rifky, curator and researcher, Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, Egypt; Solvej Ovesen, independent curator, Copenhagen, Denmark; and Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, independent curator and researcher, Yaoundé, Cameroun/Berlin, Germany.
ART LAB #2 will be located at the Factory for Art and Design in Copenhagen with material and production as the focal point. ART LAB #2 culminates in the participation in the alternative non-profit art fair AltCph that is targeting the non-institutional art scene. AltCph takes place in Copenhagen, September 2nd to 4th with a special focus on the role of independent art institutions and platforms around the world.
ART LAB #3 will be a production and exhibition oriented workshop situated at Rønnebæksholm Kunsthalle in Næstved, where there will be a public event that marks the end of the three phases of ART LAB.
About Raaderum
Images ART LAB is conceptualised, coordinated, and facilitated by Raaderum. Raaderum is a pioneer at the Danish art scene when it comes to opening new opportunities for contemporary art and working across the boundaries of established genres and institutions as well as national borders. Raaderum’s director Charlotte Bagger Brandt, who has many years of experience with international and intercultural cooperation and curatorial programmes, facilitates ART LAB.
About Images 2016
The ART LAB programme is a part of Images 2016—a programme on visual art from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Throughout the year, 100 artists from different countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East will be featured at cultural institutions and art museums across Denmark.
Images 2016 is the result of fruitful cooperation between 21 Danish art institutions, an international curator’s panel, the municipality of Holbaek, and the Centre for Culture and Development (CKU)—a self-governing institution under the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The aim of Images 2016 is to foster intercultural collaboration and dialogue and to strengthen international solidarity and cultural diversity.
Join the seminar and Alt_Cph alternative art fair:
Seminar: March 31, Copenhagen
Alt_Cph: September 2, Copenhagen
