Alanna Heiss on P.S.1 and beyond
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KUNSTHALLE IN THE WORLD
A project for the Contemporary Arts
Centre of Como
Friday, 17 December 2010, 6pm
Alanna Heiss on P.S.1 and beyond
The most beautiful Kunsthalle in the world is an international research project developed between 2010 and 2012 involving a wide range of curators, critics, historians of art, artists and professionals from diverse disciplinary fields and contexts, in an ongoing debate about exhibition practices of contemporary art in the beginning to the 21st century. It is organized by Fondazione Antonio Ratti together with the Camera di Commercio di Como (in the ambit of the initiative Laboratorio Como 2010).The project will consist of approximately 25 public events, each dedicated to a specific problematic. The themes that will be discussed will range from the analysis of the diverse models of exhibition spaces; the relation between economy and art; the definition and identity of the figure of the curator, and other aspects of doing and producing exhibitions. A particular attention will be given to the Italian panorama.
Each event will be prepared through thematic dossiers that will be published, along with the documentation of the events, on the new website of Fondazione Antonio Ratti.
The project is under the scientific responsibility of the Director of the Fondazione, Marco De Michelis, with the coordination of Filipa Ramos and the collaboration of Centro ASK (Art, Science, Knowledge) of University Bocconi of Milan and of the Graduate Program in Visual and Performing Arts of the University IUAV of Venice.
The first meeting focused on the relations between the European Art Centres and the cities that host them, followed by an extended inquiry about the Spaces for Art, which gathered some of the most influential designers and theorists who deal with the constitution of displays. Subsequently there was a conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist focused on his insight and experience in the contemporary art scene.
On Friday, the 17th of December, art critic Paola Nicolin with engage in a conversation upon the theme P.S.1 and beyond with the first lady of the New York Contemporary Art Scene, Alanna Heiss. The founder and former Director of P.S.1, and current Director of AIR Heiss is one of the most prominent figures of the alternative space movement. This conversation will reflect upon the peculiar character of the NY scenario of the 1970s, characterized by the creation of alternative spaces, often in degraded areas of the city.
The encounter will also focus on the creation of the P.S.1, which Alanna Heiss founded in 1976 and directed until 2008 and which started as the most important non-museum of New York and became one of the bastions of Contemporary Art Institutions.
Moreover, this will also be the occasion to discuss Alanna Heiss’ current position as Director of AIR. Art International Radio is an Internet-based art radio station operating out of the Clocktower Gallery in Lower Manhattan, NY, that hosts artists residencies, organizes exhibitions and events, and produces its own experimental, art-oriented broadcasts.
Alanna Heiss (*1943) is the founder and former Director of P.S.1 Contemporary Art and the current Director of AIR – Air International Radio. Heiss has curated and/or organized over 700 exhibitions at P.S.1 and elsewhere. She received a BA from Lawrence University and a scholarship from the Lawrence Conservatory of Music. In 2001, Heiss received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute, and in 2008, she received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Paola Nicolin (*1976) is an art critic and researcher based in Milan. She teaches Contemporary Art at Bocconi University in Milan and is the Art editor of Abitare magazine. Her main topics of research relate to the history and theory of exhibitions devices, and to the relationships between visual arts and space. She is a regular contributor for many international magazines and publications. She is visiting scholar at Harvard University and PhD student at MIT. She holds a PhD in Theory and History of Arts from IUAV – SSAV University, in Venice.
Fondazione Antonio Ratti
Villa Sucota, Via per Cernobbio, 19
22100 Como – Italy
Info: +39031233211 ufficiostampa@fondazioneratti.org
www.fondazioneratti.org
Image above:
Alanna Heiss at P.S.1 opening, February 22nd, 2009
