The People’s Cinema

Involving the creative input of over 60 participants, ­­­­­­The People’s Cinema includes an exhibition by contemporary artists; three cinema pavilions, a lecture series, and side projects.

From its inception to its many permutations throughout the last century, to its current quotidian status, to more personal forms of video or avant-garde film and video, to the digital revolution and online streaming… an endless tableau of images and associations is available for artists to work with.

We call this The People’s Cinema.

This project engages artists who work with this vast material and who produce artwork that acts out the dreamwork of moving pictures. The People’s Cinema appears as a collective phantasmagoria throughout the spaces of the Salzburger Kunstverein. Where cinema normally depicts objects and the world, one might imagine objects arising out of film; in a spiral between imagination, memory, desire, flesh and cinematic apparatuses. The space of cinema and the cave of associations it bears also presents wandering ghosts and spells of sensations that urge our desires and create new ones. One might imagine the object emerging from the screen that itself contains a dream. When one enters into this object, into its ripe and dark interior, one may find there another screen presenting familiar and non-familiar forms.

Images, ideas, dreams and life become one.

Exhibition: The work of 15 contemporary artists are presented in the Main Hall, Kabinett Space, Red Room, and surroundings of the Salzburger Kunstverein. A participatory project by artist-in-residence Anna Witt will also be unveiled.

Artists: Martin Arnold (Austria), Olga Chernysheva (Russia), Alexandre Estrela (Portugal), Beatrice Gibson (UK), Manuel Graf (Germany), Tamara Henderson (Canada), Camille Henrot (France), Erika Hock (Germany), Jesper Just (Denmark/US), Sung Hwan Kim (South Korea/US), Shana Moulton (US), Elizabeth Price (UK), Laure Prouvost (France/Belgium), Peter Tscherkassky (Austria), Anna Witt (Germany/Austria)

Cinema pavilions: Three cinema pavilions, including one outdoors designed by Erika Hock, house montaged films selected by international artists, film-makers, writers and curators. The central themes presented to frame the pavilions’ content are “Road to Damascus,” “Eternal Return” and “The Object.” The clips have been ordered to follow a loose narrative structure.

Participants: Gabriel Abrantes (US/Portugal), John Akomfrah (Ghana/UK), Roy Arden (Canada), Martin Arnold (Austria), Skip Arnold (US), Miroslaw Balka (Poland), Pierre Bismuth (France/Belgium), Kent Chan (Singapore/Netherlands), Olga Chernysheva (Russia), Jem Cohen (US), Ricardo Cuevas (Mexico), Keren Cytter (Israel/US), Dina Danish (Egypt/Netherlands), Distruktur (Brazil/Germany), Köken Ergun (Turkey), Ruth Ewan (UK), VALIE EXPORT (Austria), Marina Faust (Austria), Aurélien Froment (France/Ireland), Ya-Wen Fu (Taiwan/Germany), José Fidel García Valenzuela (Cuba), John Gerrard (Ireland/Austria), Manuel Graf (Germany), Andreas Greiner (Germany), Johan Grimonprez (Belgium/US), Igor Grubić (Croatia), Jennifer Higgie (Australia/UK), C.T. Jasper (Poland/US), Valérie Jouve (France), Jelena Juresa (Russia/Belgium), Sung Hwan Kim (South Korea/US), Salomé Lamas (Portugal), Maha Maamoun (Egypt), Babette Mangolte (France/US), Shana Moulton (US), Xue Mu (China/Netherlands), Sophie Nys (Belgium/Switzerland), Falke Pisano (Netherlands/Germany), Laure Prouvost (France/Belgium), Anja Ronacher (Austria), Margaret Salmon (US/UK), Jaanus Samma (Estonia), Libby Scarlett (UK), Nora Schultz (Germany), Iain Sinclair (UK), Michael Snow (Canada), Rania Stephan (Lebanon), Hito Steyerl (Germany), Corin Sworn (UK), Peter Tscherkassky (Austria), Emily Wardill (UK/Portugal), Anna Witt (Germany/Austria)

Lecture series by contemporary artists working with film:

Tuesday, July 26, 8pm
Köken Ergun (Turkey) & Jesper Just (Denmark/US)

Tuesday, August 9, 8pm
Anna Witt (Austria/Germany)

Tuesday, August 16, 8pm
Omer Fast (Israel/Germany)

Film Library: Selected films available for public use at reception.

Curated by Séamus Kealy, Director, Salzburger Kunsverein, with Vaari Claffey, Curator, Ireland.
Part of the Salzburg.2016 Celebrations.