The Collective Laboratory

Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean​ presents The Collective Laboratory, an experimental and open-ended project unfolding in Mudam’s first-floor galleries and turning them into a residency space. Six independent publishing and performance collectives based in different European cities are taking over the empty galleries during the course of seven weeks. 

In line with Clémentine Deliss’s notion of the “metabolic museum”, The Collective Laboratory intends to temporarily subvert the static function of the gallery as a display space to transform it into a lively place dedicated to artistic work: the East Gallery, allocated to collectives working with performance, will become a dynamic space for open rehearsals and other happenings. The collective gobyfish will turn the gallery into a food laboratory, experimenting with ancient preservation practices, while crème soleil will adapt an existing dance piece to the museum context. OMSK Social Club will develop a fictional world in which Mudam’s visitors are invited to immerse themselves. Simultaneously, the West Gallery will host the behind-the-scenes and often invisible activities of independent and editorial work (research, writing, translation, collective readings), allowing publishing to enter in dialogue with other disciplines. moilesautresart will conduct research for their next publication, dedicated to geological, virtual and metaphorical holes. The two collectives-in-residence that follow will each explore the transition between their digital and analogue existence from distinct angles. Mnemozine will invite the public to join performative events drawing on technological obsolescence, while Éditions Burn~Août will aim to improve their online presence as a tool for the free dissemination of knowledge.

This hybrid project doesn’t require a final body of work from the collectives—it is rather a concrete response to the scarcity of space made available for artist residencies and studios globally and in Luxembourg in particular, and happens at a moment when artists are increasingly turning to collaborative approaches as necessary vehicles to rethink, reshuffle and at times circumvent institutional models and methodologies. The Collective Laboratory seeks to support these collectives by providing the infrastructural, financial and material resources they often don’t have access to, while also sharing in their approach to rethink how institutional spaces and resources are used.

Curators: Line Ajan and Clémentine Proby, assisted by Tess Mazuet and Jade Saber.

The collectives
crème soleil (Paris, France), gobyfish (London, UK), Mnemozine (Luxembourg, Luxembourg), moilesautresart (Brussels, Belgium), Éditions Burn~Août (Marseille, Paris, Lyon, France), OMSK Social Club (Berlin, Germany).

Public programme
Shedding Light Through Dough: Edible Votive, a workshop by gobyfish
December 4, 2023; 2–4pm; with Association Singa.

An imaginary world!, a workshop by moilesautresart
December 4, 2023; 10–11am & 11am–12pm; schools 4-7 years old. 

Ressurecting Flavours: Ash & Wax Preservation, a workshop by gobyfish
December 6, 2023; 7–9pm; general public. 

Ceremonial Unwrapping, a collaborative culinary performance by gobyfish and moilesautresart
December 9, 2023; 4–6pm; general public. 

Tape Heads, a workshop by Mnemozine
December 13, 2023 6:30–8pm; general public
December 14, 2023; 10–11:30am; schools (14–18 years old).

Conversation followed by a listening session; performance by Mnemozine
December 16, 2023; 3–5pm; general public. 

Horse Pill, a performance by crème soleil
December 20, 2023; 7–8pm; general public. 

My fisrt zine, a workshop by Éditions Burn~Août
January 04, 2024; 10am–12pm & 2:30–4:30pm; children (9-12 years old, 6-8 years old). 

Collective translation, a workshop by Éditions Burn~Août
January 06, 2024; 10am–12pm (open end), general public.

Nascent Words: A Workshop for Babies and Caregivers, by OMSK Social Club
January 11, 2024; 11am–12pm; babies and caregivers (1 year old and younger).

Beyond Language: A Participatory Tour into T(( ))mb, a performance by OMSK Social Club 
January 13, 2024; 10am–1pm; general public.

Towards an experimental model for an autonomous publishing house, an event by Éditions Burn~Août
January 13, 2024; 3–4pm; general public.

The work T(( ))mb, by OMSK Social Club, was originally commissioned by Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna, 2023.
The project developed by moilesautresart is co-produced with the Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee.
With the support of co-labor, LuxFlat and soft power.

Full public programme on mudam.com.