THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE

THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE
Open House #1

Saturday, 18 June 2022
15:00-20:00

Erou Ion Călin 19, București

The Institute of the Present puts forward, starting with 2022, a series of interventions taking place in its own working studio in Bucharest, addressing the present and triggered by the way in which the independent artistic platforms and artists choose to respond to the energies of the context in which they operate.

THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE is an approach inspired by the state of mind of the artistic community of today’s Romania, by the specific strategies of intervention/reinvention advanced by the various independent platforms generating knowledge, by their ingenious practice, but also by the gestures of solidarity, the questions and reactions of the active players of this community.

The proposal to talk about “ourselves” from the perspective of a permanent conflict between “mimicking” and “mining” normality—which has shaped (and is still shaping) the way in which the independent sector refers to its own role, subsistence and attempt to correct a certain neglect present in the local context—, comes at a moment of reconfiguration of the action lines developed by the Institute of the Present.

At the same time, THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE brings back into discussion a recurring expectation of the art scene in Romania, identified by cultural players as a necessity, that is the existence of a white cube space. THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE questions the importance of such a space, proposing instead a hybrid space, activated from inside, a space that does not aim to advance new exhibiting strategies or sophisticated forms of curatorial discourse, but to contribute to the articulation of an authentic environment for a shared life, based on what we consider to be the principles of the Institute: Record, Learn, Transfer. THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE is above all conceived as a place for dialogue, sharing of individual and collective experiences that are hosted in the septic terrain of the white cube, but in a working studio of 50 sqm.

In the frame of the Open House series that opens on June 18, the Institute of the Present will organise monthly encounters around its P+4 Publications programme, aiming not only to open the access to these books, to offer them “a new life” and to enlarge the community of art book lovers, but also to engage the publishing endeavour in a new terrain, that of performativity. Open House is an informal frame of encounter and dialogue in which the visitors of the space can browse through the P+4 Publications recent and older titles and can discuss with the artists and their authors. https://institutulprezentului.ro/publicatii/

We look forward to welcoming you.

THIS IS NOT AN ARTSPACE is conceived by Alina Șerban and Ștefania Ferchedău in the frame of the artist and theory resource platform Institute of the Present.

Cultural project co-funded by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund.
Visual identity: Daniel & Andrew Design Studio (Andrei Turenici)

The project does not necessarily represent the standpoint of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN cannot be held liable for the content of the project or the manner in which the outcomes of the project may be used. These shall devolve entirely on the beneficiary of the financing.

Contact: ip@institutulprezentului.ro