ULTRASANITY. On Madness, Sanitation, Anti-Psychiatry and Resistance

OPENING at ifa Gallery 13.12.2019 / 19:00
EXHIBITION 14.12.2019–16.02.2020 / Tues – Sun 14:00–18:00
WITH Leo Asemota, Virginia Chihota, Jaswant Guzder, Eva Kotatkova, and Tracey Rose

OPENING at SAVVY Contemporary 14.12.2019 19:00
EXHIBITION 15.12.2019–26.01.2020 / Thurs–Sun 14:00–19:00
WITH John Akomfrah, Ulf Aminde, Leo Asemota, Yassine Balbzioui, M’barek Bouhchichi, Virginia Chihota, Larisa Crunţeanu, Alessandra Eramo, Pélagie Gbaguidi, Lukas Hofmann, Immy Mali, Teresa Margolles, Nathalie Mazéas, Lavar Munroe, Adjani Okpu-Egbe, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz

INVOCATIONS at SAVVY Contemporary 25.01.–26.01.2020
WITH Debbie Ann Chambers, Alessandra Eramo, Dora Garcia, Jaswant Guzder, Sophie Hoyle, Frederick W. Hickling, Lukas Hofmann, Taoufiq Izeddiou, Dorothée Munyaneza, Riah Naief, Jota Mombaça, Elisabeth Tambwe and more

“…for it is not man but the world which has become abnormal…”
–– Antonin Artaud

ULTRASANITY, a project in four chapters, challenges Western scientific methods and perspectives on mental health and questions medical (mis)conceptions of psychopathologies by situating them in the context of coloniality, racialisation, objectification, and patriarchal oppression. Deeply entangled with our previous reflections on land struggles and toxicity, this project confronts us again with traumas and fears of displacement and contamination, this time offering an opportunity to ponder the notion of madness beyond a Western understanding.

Because in our dreams we took risks

Artists: Ioana Bătrânu, Ion Bârlădeanu, Ștefan Bertalan, Michele Bressan, Mircea Cantor, Andrei Chintilă, Harun Farocki & Andrei Ujică, Constantin Flondor, Adrian Ghenie, Bogdan Gîrbovan, Ion Grigorescu, Radu Grindei, Ana Lupaș, Alex Mirutziu, Florin Mitroi, Vlad Nancă, Miklos Onucsan, Andrei Pandele, Christian Paraschiv, Șerban Savu, Decebal Scriba
Curator: Diana Marincu

December 12th 2019 – February 7th 2020
Opening: December 12th 2019, 7:30 pm
Art Encounters Foundation, 46C Take Ionescu Blvd. (Casa ISHO, 1st floor), Timișoara

ABYSS
Matei Bejenaru
BOZAR Bruxelles
17 December 2019 — 12 January 2020

The visual poem ABYSS has as a starting point the enigmatic personality of the artist Irinel Luciu, prima ballerina at the Romanian Opera in Bucharest in the 50’s-60’s. The film approaches general humanist themes, such as love and devotion, as well as aspects of the condition of the artist who makes fundamental decisions in his life. Traditional techniques of film (overprinting, the use of films with different sensitivities, contrasts and granulations) are also explored, which complete the visual style of the film based on the alternation of carefully constructed frames with spontaneous, subjective ones in the idea of constructing specific visual poetics.

Matei Bejenaru presents the film ABYSS at BOZAR Bruxelles in the framework of Europalia Arts Festival. The film can be seen until 12 January 2020.
The project is produced by 4Culture Association and WASP Studios in Bucharest, with the support of AFCN Romania and Europalia Arts Festival.

Datami
Resonances III

11 December 2019 — 19 January 2020
BOZARLAB
Rue Ravensteinstraat, 23
1000 Brussels

Datami is an exhibition of 24 artworks created by selected artists in close collaboration with scientists and policymakers. The datami is a ‘data tatami’: a place of concentration, of rest and repose against the digital onslaught, a unit of measurement of digital freedom. It helps you reflect on the coming digital transformation triggered by Big Data and AI, and to define a new digital self with all the freedoms of democracy.

The exhibition is organized by The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and Bozar with artists Lise Autogena & Joshua Portway, Maria Rebecca Ballestra, Alan James Burns​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, Jenny Brockmann, Daniel Djamo, Tiny Domingos, Akitoshi Honda, Melanie King, Siobhán McDonald, Maria McKinney, Amal Mokded, Martina O’Brien, Alexander Peterhaensel, Richard Pettifer, Prasqual, Renate Quehenberger, Giorgio Sancristoforo, Caroline Sinders, ​​​​​​​Magda Stanova, Nicolas Strappini, Ivana Tkalcic, Jill Townsley, Aleksander Väljamäe, Paul Wiersbinski, Nastassia Zenovich.

The Principle of Migration

Organizer: Experimental Project Association, Romania
Project presented in partnership with New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)
Curator: Olivia Nițiș

Artists: Matei Bejenaru (Romania), Cătălin Burcea (Romania), Lana Čmajčanin (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Austria), Simona Deaconescu
(Romania), Alicja Gaskon (Poland/USA), Elana Katz (Germany/USA), Anca Munteanu Rimnic (Germany/Romania), Marilena Preda Sânc (Romania),  Sandra Sterle (Croatia), Valeriu Șchiau (Romania/Republic of Moldavia),  Patricia Teodorescu (Romania), Ivana Todorovic (Serbia).
Partners: Working Art Space and Production (WASP), Center for Public  Innovation Association
Media Partners: Radio Romania Cultural, Revista Arta
Supported by Erste Asset Management
Project co-financed by The Administration of the National Cultural Fund

Events:
October 23rd , h. 19.00
Discussion: Migration and Representation
Screening: video works from the exhibition presented at New York
Foundation for the Arts. WASP, Bucharest

November 7th – December 20th 2019
Exhibition: The Principle of Migration, New York Foundation for the Arts,  New York

Opening November 7th / h 18.30 – 20.30

November 8th h. 12.00 / h. 19.00
On-line live video dialogue New York – Bucharest (New York Foundation for the Arts – Working Art Space and Production)

In 1880s Ernst Georg Ravenstein, the German-British geographer and cartographer, established a theory of human migration that is still at the basis of  modern migration concepts. His laws or principles of migration were published  in the Geographical Magazine of 1876 and the Journal of the Statistical Society in 1885 and 1889. Taking into account that these laws were based on data available in the premodern traditional society with limited migration and circulation as  opposed to the situation in post-industrial society, migration patterns and  behaviors may still reflect these laws, but they could also be extended. The push  and pull factor for migration are being constantly reshaped by the political,  social, cultural factors and humanitarian needs of individuals. The question is not only how these factors shape migration, but also how migration shapes them. In
the light of the recent refugee and migration waves in Europe, the war in Syria  and the effects of contemporary wars on nation-state ideals, the need to understand the current processes of migration and its short and long-term impact is imperative. Eastern Europe is not necessarily a target for migrants and it plays the role of a bridge between the place of origin and the final destination in Western Europe. On the other hand it is also a large-scale producer of migration. A significant percentage of the working force migrates towards countries in Western Europe for a better life. In current statistics Romania is the second country after Syria with the highest flow of migrants towards the West.
The former Eastern Block with its issues of poverty, segregation, inequality, and ideological vulnerability is also a challenging geopolitical and cultural territory and may reveal particular perspectives on migration, discussing the nuances around immigrant, emigrant and refugee identities. Some of the artists presented in this project are also emigrants/immigrants. Considering principles of migration are based on a human rights international law and recommended policies, the gaps between facts and normative guidelines, between human rights and national sovereignty of the neoliberal  state, set critical and nuanced perspectives on a phenomenon that is transforming the world. 

WeTransfer: Art and Politics in Appropriate Hands
Opening 11 October at 19.00h / Casa Artelor – Directia Judeteana pentru Cultura Timis, Timișoara
Event by  Asociația Contrasens

DIRECT EXPOSURE by Olivia Mihăltianu is a series of events in which the artist is taking direct photos for the public using an old technique – direct photography on paper with the help of a mobile photo lab installed on various sites. The project aims to bring the public and the artist closer, to initiate a dialogue and to encourage the use of social space in a creative way, in order to bring awareness of and expose the artist’s work, and integrate it into the public and social sphere.