STUDY EXCURSIONS
Saša Glavan: Travelling the World of Art
In the world of contemporary art travelling has most certainly become a modus operandi, however it is usually due to the lack of time of the overbooked protagonists restricted to a mere quick overview of a certain artistic climate. Such a situation enables of course only segmental overviews, often also without a true contact with the artists. Therefore for example the main sources of information with regards to the events on the Eastern part of the European continent, regardless of the big boom of art from beyond the iron curtain remain magazines and exhibitions, which are published or take place in the West.
Even networking and various conference lists on the world-wide web did not give a satisfactory result regardless of the euphoria at the beginning. They have enabled the flow of mostly dull information, however it was soon pretty obvious that for a detailed look into a certain artistic event, and even more so for the actual "making" of projects, physical attention at the place of the event and a personal contact is needed.
Study excursions within the frame of the World of Art courses for curators started in 1998. The intention was clear: take young people who will, in the future, deal with art outside of their domestic circles and in individual cases show them the variety, various methods, approaches and techniques within the artistic scene. At the same time the travels were planned in such a way that they covered as many individual segments as possible; from meetings with curators of large art institutions to visits of alternative spaces and discussions with artists. This year the traditional visit to Vienna was accompanied by visits to Poland and Sarajevo. The latter represented a novelty for the visit was, for the first time, opened also for individuals who did not attend the course. It has proven that such research of individual art scenes presents a welcomed opportunity for professionals also, who are already dealing with contemporary art and encounter the aforementioned problems of lack of time and overwork.
This is most probably also the reason that concrete consequences of the World of Art programme appeared this year, despite not being present in former years. Apart from the exhibition Visitors, which will open in October 1999 in the Škuc Gallery and is signed by the course attendees of this years course for curators, the artists from Sarajevo will present themselves also at three other exhibitions on the sunny side of the Alps: in Kostanjevica, Celje and Maribor.
Report on Study Visits:
Sarajevo, 17. - 20. 3. 1999
author of the program: SCCA-Sarajevo
visited institutions and galleries: SCCA-Sarajevo, Umjetnička Galerija BIH, Pro.ba, Akademija likovnih umjetnosti, Zemaljski muzej, Obala Art Centar, Collegium Artisticum
talks with artists: Dejan Vekić, Zlatan Filipović, Muhidin Tvico, Timur Makarević, Edo Numankadić, grupa MAXUMIM, Kurt&Plasto, Alma Fazlić, Anela Šabić, Nebojša Šerić Šoba, Šejla Kamerić, Alma Suljević, Maja Bajević
talks with curators: Dunja Blažević, Lejla Hodžić (SCCA-Sarajevo), Amra Bakšić, Enes Zlatar (Pro.ba), Meliha Husedžinović, Ivana Jevđević (Umjetnička Galerija BIH), Stjepan Roš (Akademija likovnih umjetnosti), Mirsad Sijarić (Zemaljski muzej), Fuad Hadžihalilović (Collegium Artisticum)
Vienna, 20. - 23. 5. 1999
author of the program: Institut fü r Kulturwissenschaft,
visited institutions and galleries: Raum Aktueller Kunst, Basis Wien, Wuk, Galerie Knoll, KulturKontakt Austria, Mak, Museum in Progress, Ausstellungsraum Mezzanin, Galerie Station 3, Kunstbü ro, Buchberg
talks with artists: Ula Schneider (Soho in Ottakring)
talks with curators: Martin Janda (Raum Aktueller Kunst), Sabine Schebrack (Wuk), Hans Knoll (Galerie Knoll), Annemarie Tü rk (KulturKontakt Austria), Rainald Franz (Mak), Sabine Dreher (Museum in Progress), Karin Handlbauer (Ausstellungsraum Mezzanin), Sebastian Weissenbacher, Martina Piber (Galerie Station 3), Amer Al Hily (Kunstbüro), Dieter and Gertraud Bogner (Buchberg)
Poland, 6. - 12. 9 1999
author of the program: Marek Tuszynski, Stefan Batory Foundation Poland
visited institutions and galleries: Górnośląskie Centrum Kultury (Katowice), Bunkier Sztuki (Krakow), Zderzak Gallery (Krakow), Borderland Foundation (Sejny), Centrum Sztuki Wspolczesnej Laznia (Gdanks), Wyspa Gallery (Gdansk), Multimedia festival (Wroclaw)
talks with artists: Wilhelm Sasnal, Leszek Lewandowski (Górnośląskie Centrum Kultury), Krzysztof Morcinek
talks with curators: Beata Nowacka (Bunkier Sztuki), Marta Tarabuła (Zderzak Gallery), Maria Anna Potocka, Agnieszka Szyszko (Borderland Foundation), Aneta Szylak (Centrum Sztuki Wspolczesnej Laznia)