Launch of ‘We Were Trying to Make Sense…: Exploring Artist and Non-artist Collaborations’

Thursday 30 May 2013, 6.30-9pm
Launch of ‘We Were Trying to Make Sense…: Exploring Artist and Non-artist Collaborations’

‘We Were Trying to Make Sense…’ looks at collaborative projects operating on a number of scales and working both within and outside of institutional constraints. It is a platform for reflecting on the collaborative process from a number of perspectives, with contributions from both artists and non-artists, and looks at specific issues concerning ethics, power dynamics, communication and representation. The publication was developed in collaboration between Magda Fabianczyk and Sophie Hoyle, and features contributions from Rachel Anderson of Artangel, Broniowianki Folk Group, Petra Bryant, Sophie Hoyle, Magda Fabianczyk, Tilly Fowler of AIR at CSM, Emaan Mahmud, David Roberts, Alicja Rogalska, Justyna Scheuring and Erica Scourti.

There will be screenings of Reality Life (2009) by Erica Scourti, and Broniowska Piosenka / Untitled (Broniow Song) (2011) by Alicja Rogalska, commissioned by Museum of Modern Art Warsaw and being shown in the UK for the first time.

In January 2013 the publication was launched as part of the ‘We were trying to make sense…’ exhibition at 1Shanthiroad in Bangalore, India. The exhibition, curated by Magda Fabiańczyk and coordinated by Sophie Hoyle, provided an opportunity to discuss the texts in relation to collaborative works with non-artists in an Indian context. Fabianczyk travelled to New Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Santiniketan and Kolkata to meet artists and curators involved with developing projects with various communities in India. There will be a limited edition version of the publication, with additional texts from Snachayan Ghosh (Frieze Art Fair, Kochi Muziris Biennial, Visva Bharati University), Annika Hampel (Goethe Institute Stipend, PHD candidate at Department of Cultural Policy of the University of Hildesheim) and Suresh Kumar (Bar 1, Bangalore), as a preview of the second issue that is currently being developed. The second issue will focus on socially engaged art practices in India, how Indian artists self-organise when state funding is not available, and the issues of cross-cultural collaborations between Western and non-Western participants.

‘We Were Trying to Make Sense…’ was Supported by Polish Cultural Institute in London, Polish Institute New Delhi and Adam Mickiewicz Institute. The publication was designed by An Endless Supply at Jerwood Project Space.

More information about the publication can be found here: http://www.fabianczyk.com/Magda_Fabianczyk_New/We_were_publication.html

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