Encounters: Institution – Between Body and Machine or Art and Management

An encounter on institutional language, its consequences and power relations
Organised by de Appel Curatorial Programme 15/16

In examining the current situation in the Netherlands where the public funding of institutions has been reduced, institutions have been faced with a demand to change, adjust and rethink their modes of operation and existence. These challenges are often evoked by confrontations between the administrative and creative side of cultural institutions. How can these shifts be reconciled with underlying philosophies? Who has the power over and within an institution and has the understanding of power changed?

Encounters is an on-going research and exchange platform concerned with institutions and their way of thinking – initiated by the participants of de Appel Curatorial Programme 15/16. Conceptualized in a time of upheaval at de Appel, this first Encounter premises a discussion that looks into language and power in relation to the current paradigms of institutions.

When talking about an institution one often resorts to metaphors comparing it to the body or to a machine. Both metaphors were expounded upon centuries ago by Thomas Hobbes and La Mettrie respectively. These thinkers pursued a goal of demystification, disenchantment and the eventual instrumentalisation of the language used to describe such entities as the state or the human body.


Since the introduction of these metaphors they were widely adopted in the humanities. However, the question arises as to what their purpose is now. Are they merely figures of speech? If so, does using them lead to obscuration rather than illumination? How does the language that is used to describe the ontology of an institution, form the conditions in which they work?
 


At the pilot Encounter, Nico Feragnoli (1646, The Hague), Huib Haye van der Werf (Jan Van Eyck, Maastricht) and Maria Hlavajova (BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht) are invited to present their positions in relation to their varying practices and to discuss the issues at hand with Laura Amann, Kateryna Filyuk as well as the public. This first Encounter takes place at De PUNT, hosted by TAAK, from 19:30 until 21:30 on the 23rd of October.
 


By introducing this series de Appel Curatorial Programme 15/16 is seeking to open up the necessary space to discuss the state of institutions and to transform the findings, thoughts and criticism into the following Encounters. It is an evolving format initiated by Laura Amann, Kateryna Filyuk, Jussi Koitela, Renée Mboya, Asep Topan and Alessandra Troncone.

For more information email: cpdeappel@gmail.com