5–7 November 2009
Organized by BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Venue: Ottone, Kromme Nieuwegracht 62, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Video recordings of all 1st Former West Congress contributions are available on www.formerwest.org.
In the days leading up to the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 2009, BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht hosts the 1st Former West Congress, which gathers some of the most influential curators, artists, theorists, and thinkers of the past two decades from the field of art. This is the first major public program of the long-term, multifaceted international research, education, publishing, and exhibition project Former West (2008–2013).
Former West aims at articulating the processes of the West “becoming former” that, however unacknowledged by the West itself, began with the demise of the Cold War construct of a bipolar world in 1989. The project is an attempt to rethink the West and its art out of their hegemonic self-narration and to propose another, speculative view of the history of western art after 1989, one evolving around significant social and political changes and in active dialogue with post-communist and postcolonial thought.
Former West aims at articulating the processes of the West “becoming former” that, however unacknowledged by the West itself, began with the demise of the Cold War construct of a bipolar world in 1989. The project is an attempt to rethink the West and its art out of their hegemonic self-narration and to propose another, speculative view of the history of western art after 1989, one evolving around significant social and political changes and in active dialogue with post-communist and postcolonial thought.
Through dynamic and critical exchange with contributors and participants, this inaugural Congress begins mapping the artistic and theoretical developments surrounding the problematic of the “formerness” of the West, and charts the practices in art through which we can identify and engage with the post-1989 landscape and its impact on cultural production. Each day of the Congress is framed under a general thematic field and is comprised of different formats, including keynote lectures and a series of conversations.
5 November 2009
The first day commences with Introductory Notes delivered by the Former West curators: Charles Esche (director Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven) and Maria Hlavajova (artistic director BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht). This is followed by a second session entitled Histories and Narratives: Between the Post-communist and the Postcolonial (1989–2009), which includes keynotes delivered by Sarat Maharaj (art historian, Lund), Boris Groys (theorist, New York), Paul Gilroy (sociologist, London), and Renata Salecl (philosopher, Ljubljana/London). The day is reviewed by Jeroen Boomgaard (art historian, Amsterdam).
6 November 2009
The second day’s session, Art, its Discourses, and the World at Large (1989/2001/2008), is openend by Cosmin Costinas (curator BAK, Utrecht) who engages in a conversation with Pablo Lafuente (managing editor Afterall, London) and Tom Holert (art historian, Berlin/Vienna). The rest of the day is structured around a series of conversations between two interlocutors: Helmuth Draxler (curator, Stuttgart/Vienna) and Christian Hoeller (editor, Vienna); Marion von Osten (artist, Berlin/Vienna) and Kerstin Stakemeier (curator, Berlin); Stefan Heidenreich (writer, Berlin) and Jorinde Seijdel (art historian, Amsterdam); David Riff (art critic, Moscow) and Jalal Toufic (artist, Istanbul), and concludes with a plenary session. This day is reviewed by Nathalie Zonnenberg (art historian, Amsterdam).
7 November 2009
The concluding day of the Congress, entitled Representations of Art in the Former West: Exhibitions, Art Institutions, Art Market (1989—2009) is opened by a keynote from Simon Sheikh (curator, Berlin). Further contributions on this day are organized as conversations between two interlocutors: Thomas Boutoux (curator, Paris) and Okwui Enwezor (curator, New York/San Francisco); Mihnea Mircan (curator, Bucharest) and Piotr Piotrowski (art historian, Poznan/Warsaw); Nuria Enguita Mayo (curator, Valencia) and Ana Longoni (art historian, Buenos Aires); Charles Esche (director Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven) and Douglas Gordon (artist, Berlin). The day ends with a plenary session and the concluding remarks of the Former West curators. This day is reviewed by Steven ten Thije (researcher, Amsterdam).
Former West is initiated by Maria Hlavajova, curated by Charles Esche, Maria Hlavajova, and Kathrin Rhomberg, and coordinated and produced by BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht. It is developed together with a team of research advisors: Claire Bishop, Boris Groys, Marion von Osten, Piotr Piotrowski, Simon Sheikh, and Georg Schöllhammer; and a network of institutional partners: Afterall Journal and Books, London (www.afterall.org); BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht (www.bak-utrecht.nl); Centre for the Humanities, Utrecht University, Utrecht (www2.hum.uu.nl/cfh); International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), Amsterdam (www.idfa.nl); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (www.museoreinasofia.es); Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw (www.artmuseum.pl); and Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven (www.vanabbemuseum.nl).
The 1st Former West Congress is realized in partnership with the Centre for the Humanities, Utrecht University.
Practical Information:
The 1st Former West Congress takes place at Ottone, Kromme Nieuwegracht 62 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. All sessions of the conference are held in English. PLEASE NOTE: Due to limited seating registration for the Congress is required, and is open until Wednesday 30 September 2009. To register, please send an e-mail with contact information to: info@bak-utrecht.nl.