Eds. by Elke Van Campenhout & Lilia Mestre
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Turn, Turtle! Reenacting The Institute is the second book of the publication series Performing Urgency, the full series can be viewed here.
House on Fire is supported by the Culture Programme of European Union.
House on Fire, Alexander Verlag and Live Art Development Agency, 2016. 15.5 x 22.5 cm, 195 pages, paperback with black and white photographs throughout.
The renewed interest in artistic practices as well as in institutional collaborations with artists seems to be driven by a positive vibe, by an interest in changing the governing structures from within rather than critically denouncing their power structures from the outside. The move towards ‘reclaiming the institute’ is less an act of de-masking than an attempt to re-politicise the institutional field, an attempt to make the institute matter again as a centre for intensification to address common concerns.
This new spirit of the institute manifests itself at a time when Europe is suffering from multiple institutional crises. Confidence in the political and economic structures is at an all time low, and the public funding of social, educational, scientific and cultural institutions is under pressure due to state cuts and privatisations. some institutional entities wield power without the necessary authority; others possess a residual form of authority, but not enough power to be able to set things in motion.
Turn, Turtle! Reenacting the Institute is comprised of six essays, three interviews, and six case studies of performance makers, institution directors, and thinkers. They propose diverse strategies of implication and engagement, opening up possible futures and alternative exchanges between parties that are often too often still seen as adversaries.
With contributions by:
Livia Andrea Piazza, Ane Bigotte Vieira, Daniel Blanga-Gubbay, Valentina Desideri,Kattrin Deufert & Thomas Plischke, Juan Dominguez, Nicolas Galeazzi, Jan Goossens, Valeria Graziano, Sebastien Hendrickx, Herbordt/Mohren, Vladimir Miller, Vera Sofia Mota, Ahmet Ogut, Victoria Perez Royo, Gerald Raunig, Jan Ritsema, Elke Van Campenhout, and Various Artists.