Current activity

Das Goethe-Institut Barcelona war wir für Sie auf der Manifesta 8, der Europäischen Biennale zeitgenössischer Kunst, in Murcia und Cartagena unterwegs. Thema der diesjährigen Manifesta war die Auseinandersetzung der Region Murcia mit dem Norden Afrikas. Wir sprachen mit der Presidentin der Manifesta Hedwig Fijen, dem Kurator Georg Schöllhammer von tranzit.org und den Künstlern María Ruido, David Rych, Ralf Homann, Stephan Dillemuth und Tanja Widmann.

Hedwig Fijen director of the Manifesta Foundation, Ester Regueria general coordinator or Manifesta 8 and representatives from the curatorial collectives, Alexandrian Contemporary Arts Forum (Bassam el Baroni), Chamber of Public Secrets (Alfredo Cramerotti), hold a  press conference at the  Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (MNCARS), Madrid, Sept 9, 2010.

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13/08/10

“Mass media” is the field work where curatorial collective taking part in Manifesta 8, Chambers of Public Secrets (CPS), run their activity: Mass Media as new reality’s agents creators, their relation with other researching fields, as History or Art and their communication with real facts. Included in its program, CPS, has invited british artist Fay Nicolson for coordinating a project with local newspaper La Verdad. Nicolson is an artist, writer and educator, who has been related to visual and written press. With this project she studies boundaries between art and press production, from a material point of view and in a cultural sense, as well as the different ways narrative and documentation built ideas. For her project Fay Nicolson is going to work with six european professionals from different work fields, not artistic. British artist wants to obtain through her work new forms of approaching Murcia and its cultural landscape and also open new communication, representation and analysis ways, in contexts related to mass media and art. These pages will be published in local newspaper La Verdad. Fay Nicolson has already started to work with her first collaborator, Huda Smitshuijzen Abifares, a typographer, geographer and designer from Libanon living in Holand. As the director, Huda works on researchs related with arabic typography at Khatt Foundation, and is interested in the cartography and the arabic past of the Region of Murcia. Both, Fay and Huda, have had their first meetings with medievalists from Murcia, as María Martínez Martínez, Medieval History professor at University of Murcia and author of several publications in collaboration with Antonio Parra Pujante, also from Murcia University. Fay Nicolson and Huda are visiting Region of Murcia these days, the cities of Murcia and Cartagena to find the traces of the arabic past that still survive in both cities, for creating the first of the different parts composing the final project, which will be presented at European Biennial of Contemporary Art, Manifesta 8, in Murcia.

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During a recent research trip Anders Eiebakke visited to Cartagena to test the micro drone.The following extra was taken from the CPS diary which will feature in the next edition of Kunstbeeld Magazine.

….’Anders is keen to test his micro drone, so we take a short walk towards the parched river. On its banks, Anders sets up his equipment and we watch in anticipation. Khaled does some impromptu filming and Anders explains exactly how the drone works, and the purpose of doing a test flight. After some minutes, there appears to be technical glitch. Anders talks us through the potential causes but admits he may have to call a friend to get a more accurate diagnosis. Admittedly the technical jargon escapes us, so we wait in the shade whilst he makes the call. It’s not good news; the test flight is abandoned for the day’…..

On the same day CPS curator Khaled Ramadan visits the Old Prison in San Anton. The image below is preview of the canteen area which will be used to present one of the many projected works.

AUGUST 2010

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Ralf Homann making sound recordings in a wedding dress shop in preparation for his Radio broadcast in October. This images hows Homann with Paula del Vas in her studio in Murcia 2010 where he conducted an interview with her. (Courtesy: Pablo Ferrao)

JULY 2010

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Manifesta 8 Brunch on Friday June 11, 2010, 10 a.m. at Clärchens Ballhaus, Auguststraße 24, Berlin-Mitte.

JUNE 2010

1- Collective meeting

2- Thierry Geoffroy/ Colonel speaks with David Rych whilst Khaled Ramadan documents the conversation

3 – Alfredo Cramerotti, Rian Lozano and Hannah Conroy in KW Institute

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…………Curatorial meetings in Murcia,

May 2010

Top left- Publication meeting with Pere Alvero and the Bisdixit design team.Top Right – Production meeting, Middle Left – Manifest 8 offices, Middle right – Curatorial assistants discuss projects with Jonathan Turner, Bottom left – Preview of Manifest 8 publication, Bottom right – opening weekend discussions.

Alfredo Cramerotti presents a selection of Chamber of Public Secrets works at the International Experimental Media Congress, Toronto, Canada April 7-11, 2010 . The subsequent questions and answers session explore the collaborative structure of CPS, and the use of media platforms.

Professor John M Kennedy from the University of Toronto discusses his research into blind artist Esref Armagan

Boris Ondreička (tranzit.org), Alfredo Cramerotti (CPS) and Bassam El Baroni (ACAF)

Representatives from each of the Manifesta 8 curatorial groups met in Murcia, Spain in March to discuss the possibilities of  creating a group statement.

APRIL 2010

Discussions with local artists at Manifesta headquarters

Production team and curators discussing architectural drawings of various locations in Murcia and Cartagena.