Episode 21: Ana Devic
Our guest in this episode is curator, author, and educator Ana Devic. She is best known as a member of the curatorial collective What, How and for Whom (WHW). Formed in 1999, WHW is an exemplary case in the history of curatorial studies.
Until today, they curated numerous exhibitions, amongst which are “Collective Creativity”, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, 2005; and “What keeps mankind alive?”; 11th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul, 2009, two exhibitions that will be written up in any history of exhibitions in the 21st century.
“Since the very beginning, we always emphasized collectivity is not a value per se, but rather a spark. A spark that can ignite intense exchange and sharing. Collectivity is also a method of working. It is a choice and necessity. I think collectivity outlives the ebb and tides of art world popularity.”
Ana Devic is also in charge of the international study program for young artists called WHW Akademija based in Zagreb. With Ana, we’ll further our exploration into other modes of engaging with artistic practice and hear about other possibilities, within and through art and politics. Her take on collectivity, as a spark rather than a value in and of itself; her emphasis on encounters and accessibility, and formal and informal modes of learning were really thought-provoking.
Episode Notes & Links
This episode’s conversation is part of the collaborative project ‘Communities of Learning, Bridging the Gap of Isolation’, initiated by WHW and supported by the Culture of Solidarity Fund of the European Cultural Foundation.
Ana Devic is a curator, writer, and teacher Ana Dević and a member of the curatorial collective What, How and from Whom (WHW). https://www.whw.hr/novosti/index.html#
Formed in 1999, the curatorial collective What, How and for Whom (WHW) is an exemplary case in the history of curatorial studies. They were one of the pioneer groups who were influential in saving curatorial practice from going obsolete in a moment in which author curators (often white and male) reluctant to operate in plural forms were dominating the field of contemporary art. It’s members are Ivet Ćurlin, Ana Dević, Nataša Ilić, Sabina Sabolović and designer and publicist Dejan Kršić.
Based in Zagreb, WHW Academija is an international study program for young artists. The tuition-free academy takes up to 12 fellows per year intending to work on new forms of self-determination based on modes of critical reflection, curiosity, and encounters among artists, artworks, arts professionals, scholars, and practitioners. This program consists of a series of intensives, experimental exercises, workshops, and seminars, as well as a range of exhibitions, performances, and other forms of discursive programs. http://whw-akademija.whw.hr/about-whw/
IRWIN is a highly influential artist collective, whose paintings, actions and installations played a crucial role in Balkan and Eastern European conceptual art, especially in the definitive era of 90’s and the Post-Yugoslavian context. They were a part of NSK, along with the legendary band Laibach. https://www.irwin-nsk.org/about/
Gezi Park Protests occurred in Turkey in 2013 to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. https://creativetimereports.org/2013/06/14/here-we-are-the-imagination-of-public-space-in-gezi-park/
Christine Tohme is a curator and the founding director of Ashkal Alwan. The Home Workspace Program is a tuition-free annual arts study program targeting emerging artists and cultural practitioners wishing to develop their critical skills and practice in a supportive environment in Beirut. https://ashkalalwan.org/about.php#
Mladen Stilinović (1947-2016) was a conceptual artist and one of the leading figures of the so-called "New Art Practice" in Croatia.
Sanja Iveković is a photographer, performer, sculptor and installation artist.
Tomislav Gotovac (1937-2010) was a film director, actor, performer, multimedia and conceptual artist.
Goran Trbuljak is a cinematographer, photographer and conceptual artist.
Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR) is an artistic practice situated between architecture, art, pedagogy and politics in the struggle for justice and equality http://www.decolonizing.ps/site/about/
Alessandro Petti is an architect and researcher. He is one of the cofounders of DAAR.
Sandi Hilal is an architect and researcher. She is one of the cofounders of DAAR.
Conducted by Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti, The Tree School is a place where people can gather for communal learning and the production of knowledge grounded in lived experience and connected to communities. http://www.decolonizing.ps/site/the-tree-school/
The artist group Etcetera Collective, was founded by Loreto Garín Guzmán and Federico Zukerfeld in 1997. In 2005 they founded Fundación del Movimiento Internacional Errorista (International Errorist Movement Foundation) with other artists and activists which seeks to consolidate error as a life philosophy.
Known for his seminal pedagogical work Deschooling Society, Ivan Dominic Illich (1926 - 2002) was a priest, theologian, philosopher, and social critic.
The Alternative Art School (TAAS) is an affordable learning program run by a stellar faculty offering intimate class sizes. TAAS emphasizes group work, community building, and dynamic modes of socializing and art-making. www.thealternativeartschool.net/how-it-works-1
RAW Académie is an experimental residential programme for the research and study of artistic and curatorial practice and thought in Dakar. http://www.rawmaterialcompany.org/_RAW_Academy?lang=en
DAI ROAMING ACADEMY, is an itinerant program that fosters a variety of praxes at the intersections of art and theory (both seen as un-disciplines), and invigorates (collective) thinking, researching, performing, curating, writing, voicing, making and publishing. https://dutchartinstitute.eu/program/about
The Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, "New Academy of Fine Arts", also known as NABA, is a privately run university in Milan.
Marco Scotini is a curator, researcher, teacher and writer.
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is a type of organization represented by rules encoded as a computer program that is transparent, controlled by the organization members and not influenced by a central government.
Pirate Care is a transnational research project and a network of activists, scholars and practitioners who stand against the criminalization of solidarity & for a common care infrastructure. https://pirate.care/pages/concept/
Memory of the World/Public Library is a case for the institution of public library and its principle of universal access to knowledge. https://www.memoryoftheworld.org/blog/2015/05/27/repertorium_public_library/
Curated by WHW in 2014, “Really Useful Knowledge” was an exhibition that had taken place at Reina Sofia, Madrid which sought to highlight the collective utilization of public resources, action and experiments, either forgotten or under threat of eradication, taking the museum as a pedagogical site devoted to the analysis of artistic forms interconnected with actual or desired social relations. https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/exhibitions/really-useful-knowledge
Nato Thompson is an author, curator, and self-proclaimed “cultural infrastructure builder”. Nato was also the guest of Ahali Conversations Episode 18: https://www.ahali.space/episodes/episode-18-nato-thompson
Sound.xyz is a startup aiming to support recording artists to monetize their projects through NFTs. https://www.sound.xyz/
PleasrDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that purchases and collects work that is relevant to digital and crypto culture. https://pleasr.org/
terra0 is an evolving prototype built on the Ethereum network that aims to provide automated ecosystem resilience frameworks. https://terra0.org/
Black Swan is an experimental digital initiative designed to eat the art world by channeling resources from established institutions to cultural practitioners. https://www.goethe.de/ins/gb/en/kul/zut/dao/dab.html
Tor, short for The Onion Router, is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. https://www.torproject.org
Peter Lamborn Wilson aka Hakim Bey is an anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. https://www.amazon.com/TAZ-Temporary-Autonomous-Ontological-Autonomedia/dp/1570271518
Episode recorded on Zoom in December 2021.
Interview by Can Altay. Produced by Aslı Altay & Sarp Renk Özer. Music by Grup Ses.