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A series of moving conversations and archival exchanges across different social, institutional and cultural contexts
Slought is pleased to announce "Slought in Transit," an ongoing series of public programs organized in collaboration with cultural organizations in different cities and countries. Initiated in 2007 with an exhibition in Berlin, Germany, the project has since traveled to France, Turkey, Pakistan, Croatia and other countries, each time initiated by a local partner and organized collaboratively. The programs provide opportunities for public and institutional reflection about shared interests and concerns, and also make legible socio-cultural and institutional differences.
Visually and spatially, "Slought in Transit" is inspired by the aesthetic of conceptual shows of the early 1970s. "Information" concerning past programs - such as posters, publications and photo documentation - are displayed in an minimal and elementary configuration, and juxtaposed with audio and video documentation. Together, this media creates another context for live discursive events.
We hope to convey through the "Slought in Transit" project and its associated programs a spirit of curiosity. Curiosity, for us, entails a resistance towards entrenched hierarchies, the fostering of dissent, and the discouragement of habitual forms of thinking. Philosophers, theologians and scientists have historically maligned curiosity, and the experimental disposition more generally, as a lack of specialization, a sort of intellectual futility or vacuousness. At Slought, we have diverged from this conceptualization, arguing instead for curiosity as a curatorial methodology.
Initial support for the development of this project was provided by the Helena Rubenstein Foundation, and the Russell Bergman Foundation in funding the 2007-2008 RBSL Bergman Foundation Curatorial Seminar in the Departments of the History of Art and English at the University of Pennsylvania. Support for public programming made possible in part through the generous sponsorship of the Trust for Mutual Understanding, New York, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the US State Department, and collaborating organizations. Special thanks for design and coordination assistance to Melanie Kress and Liana Moskowitz.
Associated events included remarks on February 16, 2007 at 7pm by the curatorial staff of Slought, followed by an informal conversation with featured artist Braco Dimitrijevic.
Associated events included We Have Decided Not to Die, on November 29th, 2007 at 7pm, featuring Arakawa + Gins, Arthur C. Danto, and Don Idhe in conversation, and In Defense of Sloth on December 7th and 8th. Slought and Cabinet Magazine, in partnership with the Cooper Union Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture, present a two-day event exploring histories and metaphors of sloth--one of the most philosophical of vices.
Associated events included a conversation about Slought on March 11, 2008 at 7:15pm at Sciences-Po with the organization's curatorial staff; on March 13 at 2pm at la maison rouge - fondation antoine de galbert with featured artists Fred Forest, Braco Dimitrijevic, and Carlos Ginzburg in dialogue with the public, accompanied by a day-long film program; and a seminar entitled Dissidanses (on Nancy Spero) by Hélène Cixous on March 13 at 5pm, followed by a conversation with Marta Segarra and Joana Masó on Hélène Cixous' work with contemporary artists.
Associated events included a seminar about Slought on January 3-4, 2010 at Bezalel in Tel Aviv with the organization's curatorial staff, followed by a seminar by Peter Weibel, Rewriting History. Events also included a seminar on January 6 in Jerusalem about the history of the Venice Biennale for architecture by Aaron Levy, followed by a conversation on the contemporary curator and the art of bureaucracy with Peter Weibel.
Associated events included remarks on March 9, 2010 at 3pm by the curatorial staff of Slought; Viennese Actionist Hermann Nitsch on March 10 at 3pm on Austria and the Post-war Cultural Milieu in conversation with Osvaldo Romberg; Aaron Levy lecturing on March 11 at 11am about Beyond the Biennale, in conversation with Lanfranco Aceti; followed by Jean-Michel Rabate at 2pm on The Ethics of the Lie.
This installment was presented in Lahore, Pakistan from September 20-26, 2010 at the National College of Arts (NCA), Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and Beaconhouse National University (BNU). It included public programs for students and workshops with artists, architects, and social theorists exploring ideas of peace and social responsibility, in conjunction with Slought's Perpetual Peace Project and Into the Open.
This installment included public programs with artists, curators, and architects including Katherine Carl, Aaron Levy, Armin Linke, Osvaldo Romberg, Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss, and others, with a companion installation in the PM Gallery of the Mestrovic Pavilion exploring the activities of Slought in Philadelphia.
Live events revolved around the question of "Political Education," taking a cue from an investigation of the abandoned political school in Kumrovec, and raised questions exploring the way in which the city of Zagreb can be thought of as a political school. Organized by Katherine Carl and in conjunction with the School of Missing Studies, they included:
September 4, 2010
12pm, HDLU: Photo safari led by School of Missing Studies and Armin Linke to an abandoned political school near Kumrovec
September 5, 2010
1pm, HDLU: Presentations by Berlin-based artist Armin Linke on his photographic work and Maroje Mrduljas on Continuing Modernism
7pm: Presentations by Feda Gavrilovic on the ethicization of art in the Zagreb scene, Darko Fritz presents on New Tendencies, and Rada Iva Jankovic on Gorgona, followed by a public conversation with Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss
September 6, 2010
12pm, HDLU: Photo safari led by School of Missing Studies to the Petra Gora monument
September 7, 2010
5pm, HDLU: Workshop reflecting on the question: how do cities, and the city of Zagreb in particular, generate political education today and historically through art, architecture, and urban planning? Presentations by Lea Vene and Bojan Mrdjenovic on the photo safari to Kumrovec, and their research on modern myths in art and politics in Zagreb, in dialogue with Branko Franceschi, Virtual Museum of the Avant-garde; Osvaldo Romberg on broader questions of cities as sites of political education; Aaron Levy on Slought's Perpetual Peace Project, and Guenther Holler-Schuster of the Neue Galerie Graz, moderated by Srdjan Jovanovic Weiss.
Learn about associated programs
