With a year of exhibitions, research activities, expeditions and commissions, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) furthers its dedication to reconnecting our sensitivity to the oceans, their inhabitants and the people living along their shores. TBA21 is the first contemporary art foundation that has committed and dedicated an important part of its programme on a permanent basis to the environment and its impact on mankind, with a special focus on the oceans.
The oceans, deep seas and coastal areas are the life-support system of our blue planet and are today in need of significant international effort for protection. TBA21’s programming for late 2016 and 2017 is dedicated to critical, theoretical and artistic investigations of the oceans. The foundation incites positive visions for the future and formulates strategies for enacting them.
“The ocean has been a source of inspiration for human culture for centuries. Due to its current state and politicians’ lack of vision, it is imperative that we proactively shape a more positive narrative. We no longer have the luxury of ignorance and procrastination.” Markus Reymann, Director, TBA21–Academy, the foundation’s arm of knowledge production.
TBA21 launched its oceanic programming for 2016/17 with The Current Convening #2. The Current is TBA21–Academy’s exploratory and itinerant fellowship programme based in the Pacific. The Convening took place at different locations across Fort Kochi during the opening days of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. Bringing together artists Joan Jonas, Amar Kanwar, Charles Lim, The Propeller Group, Jana Winderen, researchers and writers TJ Demos, Nabil Ahmed, D. Graham Burnett, Clémentine Deliss, Pooja Sood of KHOJ, Filipa Ramos, Aveek Sen and others with local communities, the Convening offered three days of structured conversations, workshops, performances and talks. These were overseen by TBA21 The Current expedition leaders Ute Meta Bauer and Cesar Garcia with TBA21–Academy curator Stefanie Hessler. A series of film programmes were curated by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam of the Dharamshala International Film Festival and Shanay Jhaveri.
In 2017, TBA21’s Augarten space in Vienna will host two major projects—Allan Sekula’s monographic show Okeanos and the group exhibition Tidalectics. Drawing from TBA21’s extensive collection, Allan Sekula’s exhibition Okeanos offers an opportunity to explore the oceans via the legacy of this renowned American photographer, writer, filmmaker, theorist and critic. Sekula depicts the sometimes-grim reality of global, ocean-bound trade. His work serves as a case study for understanding the interconnectedness of the environmental, political and social struggles fought across our oceans.
Tidalectics, curated by Stefanie Hessler, is the first TBA21–Academy exhibition to present major new commissions coming out of its research and expeditions. The term “tidalectics” was coined by celebrated Caribbean writer Kamau Brathwaite as a wordplay on the “dialectics” said to define Western thinking. Throughout the summer, a series of talks and performances will animate this exhibition on TBA21’s David Adjaye’s Ephemeropteræ stage in Augarten.
In September 2017, TBA21 celebrates the tenth anniversary of Your black horizon, a work that Olafur Eliasson and David Adjaye created for the 51st Venice Art Biennale, and which TBA21 moved to the island of Lopud, Croatia in 2007. A conference entitled “Your Deep Ocean” will invite participants to engage with some of the most urgent issues of our times. This event marks the end of the International Law Association conference that TBA21 will host on the topic of sea level rise, with a number of Heads of State from the Pacific.
In November 2017, TBA21–Academy will present its The Current Convening #3. A diverse programme will spill into London, emanating from its central venue at 180 The Strand. The new art space will traverse the five main layers of the ocean, connecting the depth of the seabed to the surface. The central motif will be the last universal common ancestor of all current life on Earth, which resides at the ocean floor.
Contact
media [at] tba21.org
