Organization: Continuing Education, Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)
Dates: 21–24 November, 2024
Application deadline: September 30, 2024
Organized by: Dr Ronald Kolb in collaboration with Javi Orcaray & Gaby Mangeri.
Further information: ronald.kolb@zhdk.ch.
Application form here.
This experimental study trip to Barcelona & Córdoba offers a five-day intensive encounter on the theme of critical ecologies as transformational method, that connects contemporary art, exhibitionary practices and (agro-)ecological sustainability. It focusses on artistic-curatorial practices operating outside the traditional exhibition space, aiming to effect the public sphere in its governmental relations. By looking at ecology against the backdrop of our current understanding of a (mostly exploitative) economic model, we envision ecology/economy as a responsible governmental practice of the self and others. We aim for non-ideological approaches in situated knowledges, in critical and self-critical reflections and operations of local conditions under a translocal contemporaneity. After visiting Barcelona’s Manifesta, we will commute to Cordoba (by train) and start with a visit to the landmark site Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba. During our three days in Cordoba we will immerse in a diverse array of contemporary experimental activities of (aesthetic) shared knowledge mediation and research through art works, workshops, local encounters, performances, shared meals and celebratory moments with Culturhaza and dancer/choreographer Mar Aguiló and sound artist Malu. The stay ends with a “Decolonial Walk” through Córdoba.
The study trip is open to all fields and disciplines and promises to be both educational and enjoyable. Participants should be prepared for a moderate amount of walking as we will be exploring various sites and sights during the trip. Accommodation, travel costs and other expenses are not covered by the program and must be organized individually. Note: the program is subject to change.
Dr Ronald Kolb, Continuing Education ZHdK, recently published his dissertation entitled “Curating as Governmental Practices. Post-Exhibitionary Practices under Translocal Conditions in Governmental Constellations,” in which he critically examines contemporary exhibitionary practices from a governmental perspective and explores their dynamics between representational power and participatory operations in both global and situated contexts. A characteristic feature of his practice is the orchestration of exhibiting and teaching as an exercise in participation in contexts of situated knowledges. This is also evident in the international symposia and workshops he has co-organized, such as Situated Knowledges, a digital event with Tai Kwun Contemporary, HK and the Migros Museum (2021), the Summer School “Commoning Curatorial and Artistic Education” at documenta fifteen (2022) and the workshop Commoning Collective Care in collaboration with TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (2023).
Javier Orcaray & Gaby Mangeri are cultural managers and artists with a diverse trajectory and work practice in the context of Córdoba (southern Spain), where they operate in multiple territories of research. Their practice oscillates within social and ecological discourse, designing contexts and environments for action: both in rural and urban environments – or within the art institution itself. Their mission is to agitate communities towards alternatives for cultural production in the face of omnipresent conventional standards and official institutional discourse. In 2010 they founded La Fragua artist residency in the Convent of Santa Clara in Belalcázar, Córdoba. La Fragua became a pioneering institution and one of the most important national artistic residencies in rural Spain. In 2014, they opened the independent exhibition space, CoMbO dedicated mainly to the intercultural exchange between artists in residency at La Fragua and the dissemination of the works made there. In 2020 a unification of these experiences was melded into a new form of artistic and cultural production: Plata, from where they focus on the relationship between the community and food systems, understood as a cultural and historical reflection of the evolution of our landscapes and constant balance with the environment.
Image credits: Rafael Pérez Evans, Papa. Proposed installation, Roman bridge, Córdoba, 20,000 kg of potatoes.
