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Informal meeting and a discussion: Assets for arts democracy, funds and other tools

May 27, 2013

International presentation | press to exit project space, Skopje (MK) in collaboration with Forte Marghera (ITA) | meeting and a discussion: Assets for arts democracy, funds and other tools| Forte Marghera, Mestre, Italy.

press to exit project space from Skopje, Macedonia is pleased to announce the informal meeting and a discussion titled “Assets for arts democracy, funds and other tools” (27 May 2013), a joint collaboration with Forte Marghera, Mestre.

Participants of the meeting are: Yane Calovski, Hristina Ivanoska and Ivana Vaseva from press to exit project space, Andrea Bonifacio, Forte Marghera, Alessandra Gobbo, fundriser, Venice, Daniele Goldoni, philosopher, Venice, Vincent Huang, artist, Tuvalu Pavillion, Taipei, Uve Muellrich, artist, Berlin, Francesco Palumbo, Apulia Region, Stefanie Seidl, gallerist, Berlin, Chiara Tinonin, curator, Bologna and others.

We live in a precarious world in which our existence as cultural workers seems very uncertain and unstable in light of current economic, social and political climates in Europe and beyond. Sustaining a stable and proactive agenda is what we as cultural workers hope for and fight for, but the struggles seems many and difficult. So what do we do, how do we fight against continual cuts of public funds for culture and the disappearance of the independent art organizations and individuals that seem to fall out of the major art market economies and cultural politics? How do we navigate our way on the discussion table and how does the general notion of political and social activism change the way we think, develop, produce and present ideas publically?

These may seem like too many disparate questions, spoken at once and with urgency, but so be it. Maybe it is precisely the fact that precarity is a shared condition and that it points to the potential for alternative modes of organization and joint action. Starting from here, this talk that we initiate will attempt to open the floor for the discussions as to what are the needs and challenges facing small size independent art and culture organizations in Italy, Macedonia and Germany. Also, it is our attempt to show and share our knowledge strategies and methodologies we have learned and apply in our daily effort to stay afloat and active.

This talk doesn’t want to become another opportunity to complain and be defiant quite the contrary. It is now time to jointly engage in thinking how do we go further, what are the alternative solutions to our situation,  and why is important to never stop questioning (and also putting the finger on one’s own head again and again) while asking oneself: what is my responsibility NOW as a cultural worker in this precarious world?