Manifesta 9

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MANIFESTA: AN INTRODUCTION Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, is the only nomadic contemporary art biennial, showcasing the most innovative work by artists and curators from Europe and beyond. Manifesta changes its location every two years in response to a variety of social, political and geographical considerations. Since 1996, it has been held in Rotterdam, Luxembourg, Ljubljana, Frankfurt, Donostia-San Sebastián, Nicosia (cancelled), Trentino-Alto Adige and the Region of Murcia. Opening in Belgium on June 2, 2012 and running until September 30, 2012, Manifesta 9 will be taking place in the former coalmining complex of Waterschei in Genk, Limburg, Belgium. Since its first edition 15 years ago, Manifesta has been concerned with the idea of breaking down barriers, crossing borders and building bridges. Incorporating exhibitions, performances, multi-media experiments and broadcasts, Manifesta 9 highlights the very best of creative thought, research and experimentation, involving individual artists and artistic communities from diverse backgrounds from all around the world.
MANIFESTA 9 CURATORIAL CONCEPT: THE DEEP OF THE MODERN Manifesta 9 - The Deep of the Modern The European Biennial of Contemporary Art 2 June - 30 September, 2012 Genk, Limburg, Belgium The Deep of the Modern intends to create a complex dialogue between different layers of art and history. Its point of departure is the significance of the former coalmining region of Belgian Campine as a locus of industrial capitalism’s imaginary and ecology. The remains of the Waterschei mine in Genk, Limburg, which comprise the main venue of Manifesta 9, are not the only protagonists in this story. The Deep of the Modern was perhaps most inspired by the overall geographical-ecological “mining machine” that transformed the region over the course of the 20th century, giving rise to a complex landscape of garden cities, landscape planning, canals, roads and railroads. The Deep of the Modern will develop as a dialogue between three different sections: Poetics of Restructuring. This section consists of contributions from 39 contemporary artists, focusing on aesthetic responses to the worldwide “economic restructuring” of the productive system in the early 21st century, and developments in industrialism, post-industrialism and global capitalism. The selected works will interact as directly as possible with the current state of ruin of the building and its immediate surroundings. The curatorial team has worked to create a balance between time-based works, installations, and other artistic media, and to provide a geographically and gender diverse representation of contemporary artistic practice today. The Age of Coal. An art historical exhibition comprising artworks from 1800 to the early 21st century about the history of art production aesthetically related to the industrial era. This essay on a new kind of Material Art History is organized into several thematic sections with artworks in which coal played an important role. Coal as the main fuel of industry, as a major factor of environmental change, as a fossil with significant consequences in the field of natural science, as the main referent of certain forms of working class culture and as a material symbolic of the experience of modern life. In short, The Age of Coal examines how coal affected and defined artistic production. 17 Tons. In addition to the two sections dedicated to art, Manifesta 9 will include a new element: an exploration of the cultural production that has been powered by the energy of memory that runs through the diverse heirs of coal mining in the Campine region of Limburg, as well as several other industrial regions in Europe. This section is the product of a collaboration between individuals and institutions who, coming from disparate disciplines and practicing different social forms of agency, continue to activate the collective memory and the preservation of both the material and immaterial heritage of coalmining. The title of the show refers simultaneously to the most famous song of coal miners around the world (16 Tons, recorded in 1946 by Merle Travis) and to the title of one of Marcel Duchamp's most famous installations
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