New Roads, New Urban Conditions
Symposium
10 October 2009
Directed by Octavio Zaya
Speakers: Teddy Cruz, Santiago Cirugeda, Kyong Park
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León
Avda. Reyes Leoneses, 24
24008 León
Places limited, free registration at: www.musac.es
MUSAC TO HOST NEW ROADS, NEW URBAN CONDITIONS SYMPOSIUM TO COINCIDE WITH THE SHOW KYONG PARK. THE NEW SILK ROADS
ACTIVITIES SCHDULED AROUND THE EXHIBITION KYONG PARK. THE NEW SILK ROADS
- Symposium New Roads, New Urban Conditions. 10 October. Directed by Octavio Zaya with the participation of Santiago Cirugeda, Teddy Cruz and Kyong Park
- Documentary Film Season: Moving Cities. Between Istanbul and Tokyo. 17 September to 29 October.
- Workshop with Lara Almarcegui: Descampados, Demoliciones y Ruinas (Brownfields, Demolitions and Ruins), 3 to 7 November
The exhibition project curated by Octavio Zaya: Kyong Park. The New Silk Roads is the first display of an ambitious ongoing programme of urban research by town planning expert, academic and activist Kyong Park, who, in a number of journeys, is covering the intricate route from Istanbul to Tokyo. Through the exhibition, an architecture seminar to be held on Saturday 10 October, a workshop with artist Lara Almarcegui from 3 to 7 November, and screenings from 17 September of a selection of documentaries related to the region, MUSAC highlights and scrutinises the complex conditions and relationships defining the cultural, social and political spaces to be found between Central Asia and the Far East. The 10 September event will wrap up with a performance of Egyptian artist Hassan Khan’s piece Incidence.
NEW ROADS, NEW URBAN CONDITIONS, SYMPOSIUM WITH PRESENTATIONS BY SANTIAGO CIRUGEDA, TEDDY CRUZ AND KYONG PARK. 10 OCTOBER. REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
The Symposium New Roads, New Urban Conditions, directed by Octavio Zaya, shall be held on a single day, with the participation in a range of presentations, panel discussions and round tables of architects Santiago Cirugeda and Teddy Cruz, curator Octavio Zaya and urbanist and activist Kyong Park. Free registration is open up to one week prior to the event, but places are limited.
The exhibition approaches the conditions for and consequences of neoliberal and globalising financial, social and cultural policies, not only on regions and cities in Asia but across the whole world, particularly in the South. This task may appear complex and ambitious, even unattainable within the space and time constraints of a single exhibition. However, parallel contributions by the likes of Santiago Cirugeda or Teddy Cruz may shed enough light on the issue to reveal that Kyong Park’s project is neither remote nor isolated, but is in fact firmly inscribed in the discourses that attempt to underscore the transformations taking place in urban and social dynamics through new theoretical prisms.
PROGRAMME
10:00 am. Welcome address by MUSAC Acting Director.
10:15 am. Introductory remarks by Octavio Zaya, MUSAC curator and Symposium director.
10:30 am. Presentation by Kyong Park: The New Silk Roads and Nomad Territories
11:30 am. Break
12:00 pm. Presentation by Santiago Cirugeda: Witness protection programme
13:30 pm. Guided tour of the museum and exhibitions.
14:30 pm. Break
17:00 pm. Presentation by Teddy Cruz: Radicalizing the local: 96 linear kilometres of cross-border conflict
18:00 pm. Round table
Moderator: Octavio Zaya
Participants: Park, Cirujeda, Cruz
19:30 pm. Closing remarks by Symposium Director and MUSAC Acting Director
DOCUMENTARY FILM SEASON “MOVING CITIES. BETWEEN ISTANBUL AND TOKYO. UP TO 29 OCTOBER
Chus Domínguez has compiled a selection of films that, firmly rooted in reality, may contribute to expanding knowledge on the transformations that have taken place over recent decades in some urban hubs located along globalisation’s new roads. From the fuzzy borders of Europe to the Far East, Non-Fictions III. Moving Cities. Between Istanbul and Tokyo shall introduce viewers to a range of films produced in Asia, a continent that is undergoing an intense process of social transformation that seldom appears on our cultural radar. The titles selected are: 17 September: Paper House (Kağıt Hane). Turkey (2008). 24 September: Kazakhstan, naissance d’une nation. France (2008). 8 October: The City Beautiful. India (2003). 15 October: Singapore Ga Ga. Singapore (2005. 22 October: The Concrete Revolution. China (2004). 29 October: Dan Delion. Japan (2003).
WORKSHOP WITH LARA ALMARCEGUI: DESCAMPADOS, DEMOLICIONES Y RUINAS (BROWNFIELDS, DEMOLITIONS AND RUINS). 3 TO 7 NOVEMBER
This workshop suggests an investigation into the areas undergoing transformation in the city of León and its surroundings: industrial sites, vacant plots, empty housing blocks, buildings awaiting demolition, ruins, abandoned settlements, spaces that do not comply to designated plans, spontaneous constructions, vegetable gardens planted on the outskirts of town and any other spontaneous and temporary use of space. Fieldwork around the town will be backed by conferences and seminars.
SOUND PERFORMANCE BY HASSAN KHAN. 10 OCTOBER
Following MUSAC’s established practice, a performance event has been scheduled for the new exhibition season. On the evening of 10 October, Egyptian performer Hassan Khan shall execute his 60-minute sound and video action in the museum hall.
MUSAC OFF
MUSAC, GUEST INSTITUTION AT THE NEW YORK ART BOOK FAIR AT P.S.1 MoMA
The acclaimed NY Art Book Fair has invited MUSAC to take part in its fourth edition, to be held at P.S.1 MoMA on 2, 3 and 4 October. The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León was selected due to the consistent quality of its publications, topping 50 since 2004. MUSAC is one of a handful of guest museums at this year’s edition, alongside De Apple Arts Centre (Amsterdam), Witte de With (Rotterdam) and Dia Art Foundation (New York)
For further information see www.musac.es
