October Salon 2006

Project Description

The collapse of political systems, the dissolution of existing value systems, and the massive social changes brought about by globalization are leading to an ever greater sense of insecurity. Traditional structures are challenged, as confusion mounts as to which values and social orders are to hold valid for our coexistence with each other (secular society versus religion; the reconstruction of middle-class values in the context of neoliberalism and neoconservatism; the renaissance of fundamentalist and extremist forces, just to give a few examples). A strong need for orientation and redirection can be observed, and the search for perspectives and worldviews is no longer restricted to within national borders but now requires international dialogue.

What is the relationship between art and life with all its confusion today? The exhibition art, life & confusion addresses this question and presents artists of different generations and nationalities, whose works look at social and political issues. The exhibition shows how different generations of artists have dealt with the question of the relationship between art and life, and at the same time it is to be understood as an open dialogue between generations and nations. One clear result is that art is still intervening socially and politically today and still has its own kind of orientation to offer.

The idea of dialogue is also reflected in the fact that the exhibition will be spread over the whole of Belgrade. The use of various locations in a number of quarters of the city will allow visitors moving through the city both to see the art on show and also to experience the city of Belgrade and encounter the people who live there. What visitors see in the exhibition spaces can then be linked back to life and tested in terms of its relevance for everyday life. The more abstract way in which art thematizes personal and social change is therefore also related to the real changes that are taking place in the city of Belgrade itself.

Because the October Salon will bring international dialogue in the form of art to Serbia, it will contribute to making Belgrade a future significant location for the production of ideas in southeast Europe – similar to the Istanbul Biennial.

René Block

The oldest representative event in the domain of visual arts in Serbia, i.e. the October Salon, was transformed into an international author exhibition of contemporary art two years ago. Thanks to the concept change of the Salon, the public has been given a chance to see numerous and important names from the international art and curatorial scenes and to get a better insight into the current art production on a wider scale. The international character of this event has also made a direct participation of our art scene in the world art production possible.

The Art Committee of the Salon has appointed Mr René Blöck, the curator and General Manager of the Fridericianum Museum from Kassel, the Art Director of this year’s exhibition. The Art Committee has chosen Mr Blöck because of his excellent insight into our art scene, as well as the regional one. Mr Blöck has also collaborated with some local artists whose projects he presented at some previous exhibitions: In the Gorges of Balkan (2003) and the Cetinje Biennial (2004).

Around 60 local and foreign artists selected by Mr René Blöck and his assistants will be presented at the exhibition of 47th October Salon – art, life & confusion. Around 30 artists from different countries around the world will come to Belgrade. They will be involved in a direct exchange of ideas with 30 local artists. Some earlier and latest works of art by the selected artists, site specific projects and artistic “responses” to the current European and world issues will be displayed at this year’s exhibition.

The exhibition will be held in different museums, galleries and alternative venues in the city, such as the 25th May Museum, the Art Pavilion Cvijeta Zuzorić, Legacy House, the warehouse of Publishing House “Nolit”, Belgrade Public Bath, the Art Gallery and Artget Gallery in the Belgrade Cultural Centre, the Gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Gallery of Institute Cervantes. It will take place from 29th September till 5th November 2006.

A bilingual catalogue with textual interpretations of the project written by the Art Director of the Salon and his assistants will be published for the purpose of this exhibition. Mr Bata Krgovic will be in charge of the graphic design and visual identity of this year’s October Salon.

A five-day international curatorial workshop – art, life & curating will be held in the scope of 47th October Salon additional programme. The curators of younger generation from Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey, Germany and Denmark will take part in it. They will be directly involved in the working process related to the realisation of this exhibition. A series of lectures by renowned international curators will be held in the scope of the workshop and the exhibition. The aforementioned guests of this year’s Salon will talk about their personal experiences of working on some large-scale exhibitions similar to the Salon.

The Assembly of the City of Belgrade is the founder and the patron of the October Salon and the Belgrade Cultural Centre is the organiser of this international event.

47th OCTOBER SALON, organized in different museums, galleries and alternative spaces all over the city of Belgrade

Museum of 25th May – Museum of the History of Yugoslavia, Botićeva 6Working Warehouse of publishing house Nolit – Kraljevića Marka 4 Belgrade Cultural Center Art Gallery – Knez Mihailova 6 Gallery Artget – Trg Republike 5/I Cinema Hall of BCC, Kolarčeva 6 Gallery of the Institute Cervantes – Čika Ljubina 19 Legacy House – Knez Mihailova 46 Public Bath, Beograd – Cara Dušana 45 Gallery of Fine Arts Academy – Knez Mihailova 53 Art Pavillion Cvijeta Zuzorić – Mali Kalemegdan 1

Pressetext

- NEUE BALKANBIENNALE?

René Block kuratiert den Belgrader Oktobersalon 2006

Zwar ist der Belgrader Oktobersalon eine Einrichtung mit Tradition, der diesjährige trägt die Nummer 47, doch erst zum zweiten Mal öffnet er sich der internationalen Szene. Vor zwei Jahren lud die polnische Kuratorin Anda Rottenberg nach Belgrad, für dieses Jahr wurde der Salon dem Balkanerfahrenen Leiter der Kunsthalle Fridericianum Kassel, René Block, anvertraut. Unter dem Titel Art, Life & Confusion versammelt Block an 9 Orten der Stadt mehr als 100 Künstler. Neben Künstlern aus der Balkanregion und Istanbul, sind insbesondere Künstler aus den nördlichen Ländern Europas zu dieser neuen Biennale eingeladen. Ältester Künstler ist der zu Anfang dieses Jahres, kurz vor seinem hundertsten Geburtstag, gestorbene Schwede Elis Eriksson, jüngste Teilnehmerin ist die 15-jährige Australierin Ramona Nocketta aus dem Aboriginie Künstlerkollektiv Jirruwan Girls.

Besondere Räume sind den, in diesem Jahr gestorbenen Künstlern Nam June Paik und Allan Kaprow zugedacht. So wird von Kaprow das frühe, aus 1000 Autoreifen bestehende, Environment YARD in einem ehemaligen Schwimmbad rekonstruiert.

Die Ausstellung wird von einem mehrtägigen Workshop der Kuratorenwerkstatt Fridericianum begleitet. Es erscheint ein Katalog.

Adel Abidin, Iraq | Ana Adamovic, Serbia | Lucas Ajemian, USA | Victor Alimpiev, Russia | Hüseyin Alptekin, Turkey | Halil Altindere, Turkey | Rados Antonijevic, Serbia | Srdjan Arsic, Serbia | Maja Bajevic, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Christiane Baumgartner, Germany | Joseph Beuys, Germany | Claus Böhmler, Germany | KP Brehmer, Germany | Candice Breitz, South Africa | Birgit Brenner, Germany | Joan Brossa, Spain | Elina Brotherus, Finland | Sophie Calle, France | Paolo Canevari, Italy | Mircea Cantor, Romania | Jovan Cekic, Serbia | Olga Chernysheva, Russia | Aladin Bugi Corovic, Serbia | Alexandra Croitoru, Romania | Jacob Dahlgren, Sweden | Aleksandar Dimitrijevic, Serbia | Braco Dimitrijevic, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Elis Eriksson, Sweden | Matias Faldbakken, Norway | Jakup Ferri, Kosovo | Fun Art Club / Vladimir Nikolic, Serbia | Felix Gmelin, Sweden | Goksoyr & Martens, Norway | Ion Grigorescu, Romania | Asta Gröting, Germany | Edi Hila, Albania | Kim Hiorthoy, Norway | Pravdoliub Ivanov, Bulgaria | Gabriele Jerke, Germany | Jirrawun Girls, Australia | Tellervo Kalleinen, Finland | Marja Kanervo, Finland | Aino Kannisto, Finland | Sanna Kannisto, Finland | Allan Kaprow, USA | Gülsün Karamustafa, Turkey | Dorata Kenderova, Slovakia | Vojislav Klacar, Serbia | Jens Kloppmann, Germany | Natasa Kokic, Serbia | Jaroslaw Kozlowski, Poland | Susanne Kutter, Germany | Raakel Kuukka, Finland | Rosemary Laing, Australia | Peter Land, Denmark | Robert MacPherson, Australia | David Maljkovic, Croatia | Christian Marclay, USA | Vlado Martek, Croatia | Ana Martinovic, Serbia | Olaf Metzel, Germany | Milen Miltchev, Bulgaria | Mihael Milunovic, Serbia | Aydan Murtezaoglu, Turkey | Oliver Musovik, Macedonia | Zoran Naskovski, Serbia | Vukasin Nedeljkovic, Serbia | Milan Nesic, Serbia | Tatjana Nesovic, Serbia | Bjoern Norgaard, Denmark | Année Olofsson, Sweden | Nam June Paik, Korea | Dragan Papic, Serbia | Dan Perjovschi, Romania | Finnbogi Petursson, Iceland | Qin Yufen, China | Aurora Reinhard, Finland | Mario Rizzi, Italy | Gerhard Rühm, Austria | Bülent Sangar, Turkey | Carles Santos, Spain | Wael Shawky, Egypt | Jari Silomäki, Finland | Tim Silver, Australia | Nedko Solakov, Bulgaria | Soo-Ja Kim, Korea | Miodrag & Nina Stankovic, Serbia | Mladen Stilinovic, Croatia | Talent Factory / Vladimir Peric, Serbia | Vibeke Tandberg, Norway | Sam Taylor-Wood, Great Britain | Rasa Todosijevic, Serbia | Jelena Tomasevic, Montenegro | Milica Tomic, Serbia | Jaan Toomik, Estland | Endre Tót, Hungary | Jalal Toufic, Lebanon | Anu Tuominen, Finland | Nasan Tur, Turkey | Salla Tykkä, Finland | Roi Vaara, Finland | Vera Vecanski, Serbia | Rados Vujaklija, Serbia | Peter Weibel, Austria | Emmett Williams, USA

Kuratoren: René Block, Barbara Heinrich, Germany

Pressetext Fridericianum Kassel

47th October Salon 2006
"Art, Life & Confusion"
Kuratoren: René Block, Barbara Heinrich

mit Adel Abidin, Ana Adamovic, Lucas Ajemian, Victor Alimpiev, Hüseyin Alptekin, Halil Altindere, Rados Antonijevic, Srdjan Arsic, Maja Bajevic, Christiane Baumgartner, Joseph Beuys, Claus Böhmler, KP Brehmer, Candice Breitz, Birgit Brenner, Joan Brossa, Elina Brotherus, Sophie Calle, Paolo Canevari, Mircea Cantor, Jovan Cekic, Olga Chernysheva, Aladin Bugi Corovic, Alexandra Croitoru, Jacob Dahlgren, Aleksandar Dimitrijevic, Braco Dimitrijevic, Elis Eriksson, Matias Faldbakken, Jakup Ferri, Fun Art Club / Vladimir Nikolic, Felix Gmelin, Goksoyr & Martens, Ion Grigorescu, Asta Gröting, Edi Hila, Kim Hiorthoy, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Gabriele Jerke, Jirrawun Girls, Tellervo Kalleinen, Marja Kanervo, Aino Kannisto, Sanna Kannisto, Allan Kaprow, Gülsün Karamustafa, Dorata Kenderova, Vojislav Klacar, Jens Kloppmann, Natasa Kokic, Jaroslaw Kozlowski, Susanne Kutter, Raakel Kuukka, Rosemary Laing, Peter Land, Robert MacPherson, David Maljkovic, Christian Marclay, Vlado Martek, Ana Martinovic, Olaf Metzel, Milen Miltchev, Mihael Milunovic, Aydan Murtezaoglu, Oliver Musovik, Zoran Naskovski, Vukasin Nedeljkovic, Milan Nesic, Tatjana Nesovic, Bjorn Norgaard, Annee Olofsson, Nam June Paik, Dragan Papic, Dan Perjovschi, Finnbogi Petursson, Qin Yufen, Aurora Reinhard, Mario Rizzi, Gerhard Rühm, Bülent Sangar, Carles Santos, Wael Shawky, Jari Silomäki, Tim Silver, Nedko Solakov, Kim Sooja, Miodrag & Nina Stankovic, Mladen Stilinovic, Talent Factory / Vladimir Peric, Vibeke Tandberg, Sam Taylor-Wood, Rasa Todosijevic, Jelena Tomasevic, Milica Tomic, Jaan Toomik, Endre Tót, Jalal Toufic, Anu Tuominen, Nasan Tur, Salla Tykkä, Roi Vaara, Vera Vecanski, Rados Vujaklija, Peter Weibel, Emmett Williams

Veranstaltungsorte 2006:
Museum of 25th May - Museum of the History of Yugoslavia; Warehouse of publishing house Nolit; Belgrade Cultural Center; Art Gallery, Belgrad; Gallery Artget; Cinema Hall of BCC; Gallery of the Institute Cervantes; Legacy House; Public Bath, Belgrad; Gallery of Fine Arts Academy, Belgrad; Cvijeta Zuzoric Art Pavilion, Belgrad