Launching an Independent Art Space

Launching an Independent Art Space: Conceptual and Practical Skills
with Nora Mayr

Duration: Feb 11 – Mar 11, 2021

Fee: 172€

Max seats: 30

Enroll before: Feb 10, 2021

Dedication: 3 hrs/week

Project spaces (also known as independent art spaces, artist-run initiatives, off spaces, etc.) are an important part of the art ecosystem: nurturing experimentation, promoting new artists, sparking dialogue and working closely with local art communities. While project spaces take many different forms, what they have in common is that they are usually not institutional, not commercial, nor a white cube.

Whether you’re an artist, a curator or a collective group of people, having your own art space – no matter how small it is – brings a lot of opportunities to realize your ideas, experiment with concepts and build your career. Nevertheless, for a fruitful outcome it is important to consider certain structural, financial and conceptual aspects before getting started. This course is for people who want to set up their own independent art space. We will discuss the essentials of setting up your own space, including how to get started, potential organisational structures, developing a curatorial line, handling finances as well as PR strategies.

Over four weeks, participants will learn the practical aspects of establishing a project space and discover case studies of structural organisations and conceptual approaches. In addition, this course will also provide an overview of the history of prominent project spaces as well as current developments and existing networks.

Come with an already existing idea or start from a blank page! Throughout the course you will develop a concrete outline of the steps you need to realise your independent art space.

Week 1. Introduction

• Introduction to the program and course overview.

This is a one-hour-only elcome session. The lecturer will introduce the program and participants will introduce themselves. No prior preparation is necessary.

Week 2: Characteristics and formats

• Introduction
• What is an independent art space?
• History of project spaces
• Introduction to different types of artist-run spaces (exhibition formats, concepts, spaces and structures)
• Project space platform networks world wide

Week 3: Structuring an artist run space

• Structural set up (legal forms, team, opening hours, duration etc.)
• Deciding on a location (who are your neighbors, audiences, collaborations, costs)
• Defining your aim (Visitors, entrance fees, network, platform, etc.)
• Audiences (What kind of audiences can one expect? What kind of audiences are you addressing?)
• Program (exhibitions, lectures, open or closed)
• Public programming (Artist talks, performances, education)
• Different types of financing and fundraising for an artist run space

Week 4: Exhibition-making – concept, budget, practical skills

• Strategies of developing a concept
• Strategies of research. How to find fitting artistic positions and related topics?
• Turning your idea into a practical concept
• Lending works from artists and galleries (how to source the works and how to secure loans)
• Writing a budget
• Install (working with technicians, artists and considering packaging and access)
• What to consider when organising a transport (insurance, customs, costs)

Week 5: Communication – artists, collaborators, press

• Working with collaborators (institutions, curators, artists), defining contracts
• Contacting Artists: open calls, invitations, commissions
• Developing a Press Kit (writing press release, press images)
• Communicating an exhibition and events (invite cards, newsletters, private invites)
• How to use or not use Social Media
• How to address the press and journalists
• Documentation (taking pics, website, archive, catalogue)
• Communication in the exhibition space (Handout, Labels; guided tours)

Nora Mayr is a independent curator working in Berlin. After completing her studies of Communication Science and Art History at the universities of Vienna and Utrecht in 2008, she was responsible for the International Studio Programme of Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin for three years. Since 2012 she had been co-director of the exhibition space insitu, Berlin, as well as is a co-founder of the Project Space Festival Berlin. Exhibitions include ‘Kann es Liebe sein’ in Luxemburg, Vienna and Berlin; ‘Open Lab: Irreversible Moment’ at Schering Stiftung Berlin. As insitu she has exhibited at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin and Another Space, Copenhagen, taken part in talks for Aarhus Art Weekend 2015; and is regularly invited panelists as events like the Curatorial Marathon for Picture Berlin and the Grosses Treffen – Portfolio Review for Nordic Artists.

Image by: MF Evelyn