Small afternoon symposium (3.00pm) and evening discussion (7.00pm) about possibilities but also limits of art reacting on current social, politic situation and emerging extremism. The guests of the discussion will be Michal Kaščák, Daniela Krajčová, Tomáš Rafa, Jaro Vojtek and Marcy Arlin. Mira Keratová will be moderating.

First symposium dedicated to participatory art at Stanica (http://archiv.stanica.sk/2012/12/karaoke-europe-ocarenie-realitou/) was focused mainly on work methodolgy of artists and scientists who somehow works with “reality”. In the second round of thinking about participation, we want to have a look more on particular theme and that is a relation between art and borders (understood in a broad context: ethnic, gender, social, national, borders of health and handicap).

Together with Claire Bishop, we can speak about two groups of participatory projects. In relation to the theme of borders, we can coin them as those that creates utopic visions of happily shared borderless world wherein people meet, share and enrich each other by the diversity (relation aesthetics) and those who acknowledge, interact various forms of borders in everyday reality, they are taking them into consequences, sometimes absurd ones - hence they are displaying the impact of the borders on people’s lives (antagonism).

We are based on the situation in Slovakia where first, multicultural, educationaly and constructively focused group of participatory projects prevail. The main question is: what is the social impact of (relatively well subsidized) participatory art if a neonacist wins the self-governing region elections and his public popularity keeps growing? Why is there so few examples of critical approach in the participatory art in such a critical sutitation?

With the guests not only from Slovakia (artists dealing with participation and professionals from social sciences), we want to discuss what are the possibilities and challenges of the participatory art in the situation wherein various forms of borders are getting still bigger social importance - from small decisions such “supporting local grocery” through homophobic “pro life marches” to increasing right wing extremism. What is the meaning of borders in everyday life of a man? By which language can particpatory art talk back?

Photo: Franz Erhard Walther and Santiago Sierra, Demonstrating No. 46 from Walthers first workset („Sehkanal, 1968“), 2011. Source: http://www.mpefm.com

Symposium will be held in Slovak, the English part will be interpreted.
Admission by donation.

Support: