Expanding Internationalism - A Conference on ... - Mary Jane Jacob

THE OTHER
How do we represent others and how do we represent ourselves
to others
Moderator:
Panelists:
Catherine David, France
Rasheed Araeen, Great Britain
Piedad de Ballesteros, Colombia
Homi Bhabha, Great Britain
Chris Dercon, The Netherlands
Mark Francis, Great Britain/USA
Gary Garrels, USA
Michael Kirrmelman, USA
Moharrmed Melehi, Morocco
Bernice Murphy, Australia
Moira Roth, USA
Bruno Cora, Italy
In such an international and open context, including so many different
participants coming from such different countries and experiences (artist,
art critic, institution directors, curators), it was very difficult and
ambitious to discuss the idea and the realities of "The Other." It was at
first necessary to precisely define issues and to escape preconceived
ideas and corrmonplace attitudes encouraged by the dominant ideology of the
"global village" and the pretended universal "human rights."
In that respect the brilliant paper given the day before by Homi
Bhabha was a perfect introduction to the debates and made clear some very
ambiguous or frustrating points about what we can consider as an
international strategy of the "corrmon good" which systematically ignores
conflicts, injustice, and alterity. As he pointed out:
"Despite the
asymmetrical relations of geopolitical power, and the appropriation or
annihilation of sites of cultural otherness, we seek a kind of redemptive,
representative corrmonality."
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