15 December 2011–28 October 2012
Participants
Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson, Claudia Firth, Naomi Hennig, Uwe Jonas, Karin Kasböck, Julia Lazarus, Claire Lehmann, Blithe Riley, Antonio Serna, Erin Sickler, Moira Zoitl
Since the end of 2010, an informal circle of Berlin-based persons involved in art has been gathering under the title “Haben und Brauchen / to Have and to Need” to take action in regard to cultural and urban political issues. As a grass-roots democratic art association, the NGBK makes its resources available for continuing the discussions initiated in the frame of “Haben und Brauchen / to Have and to Need” and expanding the scope beyond Berlin.
The focus is on fathoming one’s own options for action – from formulating political demands, to establishing networks with similar national and international initiatives, to conducting artistic actions, all the way to drawing up alternative economic models beyond the state funding of art.
Moderation: Naomi Hennig, Karin Kasböck/bankleer
Organisation (Initiative of members) of the NGBK: Naomi Hennig, Karin Kasböck/bankleer, Uwe Jonas, Moira Zoitl
EVENT 2:
Tuesday, 12. 06. 2011 | 19.00 h
Guests: Claire Lehmann, Erin Sickler, Antonio Serna and Blithe Riley (New York)
Language: English
At NGBK event space, 1st floor
For the second event, guests from New York have been invited to give an account of the current repositionings vis-à-vis local cultural and urban policies and – based on examples from their context – of self-organisations of artists and their protest actions. The guests are members of the Art & Labor group and engaged in the alternative economy section. They are the Arts & Culture part of the New York Occupy Wall Street movement, from which the Occupy Museum group emerged. The organisational structures of Art & Culture and the Occupy Wall Street movement as well as strategies and actions of the groups will be presented and put up for discussion.
Moderation: Julia Lazarus, Raphaël Grisey
Organisation team of the NGBK: Uwe Jonas, Karin Kasböck, Julia Lazarus, Moira Zoitl in cooperation with Raphaël Grisey
EVENT 1:
Thursday, 12/15/2011, 7 pm
Guests: Libia Castro & Olafur Olaffsson (Rotterdam/Berlin)
Claudia Firth (London)
Language: English/German
Venue: NGBK event space, 1st floor
Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst e.V.
For the first event, guests from Rotterdam and London have been invited to give an account of the current repositioning vis-à-vis local cultural and urban policies and – based on examples from their context – the self-organisation of artists, as well as their protest actions against budget cuts and precarisation. Up for debate is the embedding of artistic work in societal developments – beyond the “creativity cosmos” and the art system.
Claudia Firth is an artist and writer living in London. She has participated in various collective work and housing projects including the Aesthetics of Resistance Reading Group and the Precarious Workers Brigade.
Claudia Firth: Waving or Drowning. Art and Protest in the UK, DIS Magazine
Libia Castro & Olafur Olaffsson live in Rotterdam and Berlin. Their art projects are frequently based on cooperation and deal with problems of globalization and social inequality, among others issues. In the frame of this discussion, they will talk about their own projects to address the collaboration and connections with currently active social and political movements in the Netherlands, Spain and Iceland, and discuss possible links to the activities related to Haben und Brauchen / to Have and to Need.
The event series will be continued next year and additionally discuss topics such as the desire for a democratic city and the participation of residents in urban development processes. The privatization and increasing economic exploitation of urban space are clearly impairing the living and working conditions of residents and cultural producers. The event series seeks to continue the debate on the role and self-understanding of cultural actors in this context (between gentrification and precarious living conditions).