HARBOUR FOR CULTURES (H/C)
Drawing inspiration from the real case history of how to convert and reuse the area of the Porto Vecchio (old port) of Trieste and ideally looking for an accessible model of a shared society, the Forum’s research and discussion will be based on both the historical functions of port activities carried out for economic interest (exchanges of goods, insurance issues and commercial profit) and the idea of "suspension" inherent in the imaginary of a port (of arriving, temporarily belonging and then leaving). H/C was first presented at the 8th CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators from Central Eastern Europe. The Venice Forum discussion initiated the H/C project and focussed on the social and cultural dimensions of these issues in view of shaping an image of a "new port" where people freely exchange their own cultures, while assuring their core values, so that new profits (benefits of art and culture) are earned by the many. H/C is an ongoing project focussing on the social and cultural dimensions of these issues in view of shaping an image of a "new port" where people freely exchange their own cultures, while assuring their core values, so that new profits (benefits of art and culture) are earned by the many. H/C will create a network of art curators, artists and free thinkers from other disciplines, "experts" and "non-experts", to engage in curatorial workshops and meetings, in-depth studies, art exhibitions and multidisciplinary events. H/C re-interprets the usual functions of a harbour based on economical interests (exchange of goods, commercial profit, insurance issues) and its interim state between arriving, temporary belonging and leaving. H/C diverts these functions to challenge a macro-utopia – a vision to create a (near) future society beyond geographical and mental borders, a heterotopia, as Foucault noted in Other Spaces (1967), highlighting the role of the ship: “The ship is the heterotopia par excellence. In civilizations without boats, dreams dry up, espionage takes the place of adventure, and the police take the place of pirates”. “Harbour” is a synonym for “arriving”, at a final destination, for being at “home" – as a promise or hope, even though this might be interimistic at the same time: we witness the complex tragedies of the refugee in recent years – many of them never arriving, not onto dry land, but even when they do so, hardly ever do they arrive into our societies. Even though the point of departure for H/C is Trieste and her unresolved situation of the Porto Vecchio, which has remained unused and in a state of decay for decades, this project transgresses a real physical location. H/C collects individual contributions by putting forward personal desires as integral elements to create communal profit based on human, social and societal values for living together by addressing the following questions: _ How can arts and culture, artistic and curatorial strategies contribute to our society to counteract the current dismal state of democracy (in Europe) and an arts and cultural production predominantly orientated towards profit in the art-market? _How can H/C create a harbour in the sense of “arriving” and “belonging” by addressing the burning issues and changing conditions we are faced with in the Mediterranean area and in Europe as a result of increasing social and economic injustice and wars? _ How can H/C re-inforce the power of collective action and produce desires and visions beyond the increasing sense of helplessness experienced by large parts of society? _ How can H/C reverse the desire for certainties and insurance against whatever problem might occur by reassuring the need for risk-taking, for engagement? references: Other Spaces by Michel Foucault (1967) Oblique Strategies by Brian Eno (1975) The 10 issues of the Blue Frog Society by Barbara Holub (2010) SHARED VALUES, AMBULANT GARDENS, AND OTHER SPACES
H/C workshop by transparadiso (Vienna) PRODUCTION OF DESIRES FOR A HARBOUR FOR CULTURES IN PORTO VECCHIO transparadiso organized a poetic and visionary walk through Porto Vecchio, where the people form Trieste and international participants cultivated their individual desires for creating a community in this contested area. "What do you want from the harbour, what you never dared to express? This will be the moment for placing your desires. Engaging in H/C means to have a voice: all your contributions – no matter how contradictory, ambivalent, improvised, long-lasting, desperate, hidden or urgent. Your desires will be shown at Trieste Contemporanea, together with selected projects by transparadiso (Austrian co-curators of the H/C project) as part of the cumulative H/C exhibition: opening on November 25, 2017. As in many of their projects transparadiso creates a specific situation for engaging people of also conflicting interests - residents, politicians and decision makers. Counteracting a meanwhile often general request for participation in urban planning transparadiso wants to differentiate carefully whom to involve at which point and for which goals. The artistic-urban interventions transparadiso creates aim at returning the voice and responsibilty to the local people. |
HARBOUR FOR CULTURES (H/C) a project by trieste contemporanea, transparadiso and Betta Porro events 2017 8th CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators from Central Eastern Europe. HARBOUR FOR CULTURES. Continental Breakfast 2017. Venice, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (Palazzo Zorzi, Castello 4930) Friday, May 12, 2017 [14.00 – 19.00] .......................................................... H/C: workshop, exhibition, 8th CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators from Central Eastern Europe/ Trieste session Oct.28, 2017 13:00-15:00 "Shared Values, Ambulant Gardens, and Other Spaces"/ Production of Desires for a Harbour for Cultures H/C workshop by transparadiso at the Porto Vecchio 15:30-19:00 8th CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators from Central Eastern Europe. Trieste Session. Magazzino delle Idee 19:00-21:00 H/C: opening of the exhibition studio tommaseo Exhibition: Oct.29–Dec.13, 2017 ......................................................... SHARED VALUES, AMBULANT GARDENS, AND OTHER SPACES exhibition: Nov. 26–Dec.13, 2017 studio tommaseo, Trieste ........................................................ for more information please see: trieste contemporanea www.facebook.com/harbourforcultures ......................................................... Contributions to H/C by participants pf the 8th CEI Forum, Venice, May 2017:
Documentation of H/C
TRI/E/S/T/E
HDA/ House of Architecture, Graz 2018 curated by Michael Petrowitsch and Giuliana Carbi ........................................................... | ||||
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"Shared Values, Ambulant Gardens, and Other Spaces"/ Production of Desires for a Harbour for Cultures
Walk/ Workshop by transparadiso at the Porto Vecchio, Oct.28, 2017 |
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Maps with desires for the Porto Vecchio collected in many events in Trieste and abroad: "Shared Values, Ambulant Gardens, and Other Spaces" – walk/ workshop by transparadiso, Porto Vecchio; "Carte Blanche" (ongoing series, curated by Betta Porro/ Trieste); urban walk/ HafenCity Hamburg (connecting to Harbour for Cultures/ Porto Vecchio Trieste, by Barbara Holub) and other events.
In addition contributions by artists and experts have been collected as response to H/C. |