a reply dated 19/12 .

There are a few issues that are playing here, in the artist-group of Hisk which you invited.

An important, because also practical one, is the matter of dividing us into 3 small parts. We understand that you´re aiming for the ´duration´ of an exhibition., with us visiting you 3 weekends. But I, and many others, don´t feel happy about this . We feel, for your project, aswell as with an ´ordinary´ group-exhibition, it is important to have all the works there together (thus all the artists in this situation), which makes it a whole. What you propose now, is actually 3 separate groupexhibitions instead of one project. (3x 4 artist x 3 different dates). Offcourse we could choose to work separatly or collaborate during this one weekend, but it would ad power and much more possibilies to the rather ´closed and controlled´ event that it seems to be now.

Besides that I feel your project should and needs to benefit from the energy of a group of artists together in this exhibition. Otherwise we will end up, I fear, with an exhibition of curators, where the few artists present are not only outnumbered, but also become merely objects. It would be more interesting for you and much more interesting for us, to go at one and the same weekend. That weekend, I feel, should focus on the role and the side of the artist, and we should be able to propose our own subjects, make and show work if we would want to, perform, have debates, .... The other weekends could then be used to debate on a more curatorial level, the role of the institute,and offcourse everything that took place at the artist´s weekend is also good material to use in the lectures and debates.

I feel that this is a very important issue, and that it should not only be gazed upon as a practical solution or decision.
Our first loyality should be with the art-content, and it seems that in this project the artworks are replaced by the artists, this means us...

I´m still interested to be part of this project. If only because I feel that the problematic relation between the artist and the curator, only can be dealt with through actual confrontation. It seems to me that this project actually could work in this way.
But then as stated before, the energy of the group united (those who want to go) is a basic need for succes.

I leave you with some thoughts from Marco Stamenkovic (from another project!) on the problematic situation we´re in, as artists and curators. Please don´t miss the opportunity...

we need to work (and this will be a long road to DRIVE, in the future) in order
to CHANGE the usual attitudes of "curators" and especially in order to
change the relation between artists and curators (especially because
this relationship has been usually a power relationship, where
curators are "sacred beings" above the artists, etc etc)

None of us wants this situation to remain as such and we have to work
towards the elimination of this power-relationship -

Lara.