Learning from lumbung
Public Forum on documenta fifteen
23 & 24/01/2023
The Indonesian collective ruangrupa were the curators of the most recent edition of
. They gave a central place to collective artistic practices with special attention to participation, conversation, exchange and action, rather than internationally recognized individual artists who produce rather tradable objects. These practices, which come largely from the often underrepresented ‘Global South’, are characterized by a high degree of cooperation and trust – as a ‘lumbung’.
This Forum is organised to help us understand and collectively reflect on the resource distribution system that ruangrupa has set up, its limitations and emancipatory features. The presence of collective art practices in the highly visible context of
, in addition to questions of collaborative work and self-organization, touches the heart of the economy of the contemporary art system. The existing global system of the art world is confronted with profound questions about the institutional consensus that currently guides the modern art world.The questions posed in Kassel are important for the entire arts landscape, and not just for the visual arts, let alone for a specific organization. Learning from lumbung is equally inspired by an interest in new ways of thinking about the arts, based on inclusive forms of ownership and a redistribution of value, that can form the fertile ground for the art landscape of tomorrow. In the current political-economic context and in the context of the new arts decree of the Flemish Community, questions about the distribution of resources and (self-)organization are only becoming more relevant for more and more artists. The actors in the Brussels art landscape are stakeholders and carriers of this conversation.
Jubilee organises this public reflection together with The Kitchen, State of the Arts (SOTA), radical_house and école de recherche graphique (ERG), three organisations that emanate collectivity and reflect on the place of the arts within society. Jubilee initiated Learning from lumbung from an interest that it has previously articulated through Caveat and Emptor, collective research trajectories reflecting and acting on the ecology of artistic practice.
20h
Recording session of Kitchen Broadcast III
!RSVP, for reservations send an email to: thekitchenbxl@riseup.net
Iswanto Hartono is part of ruangrupa, the Indonesian collective that curated documenta fifteen. For documenta fifteen ruangrupa introduced lumbung as a practice, not only during but also leading up to and beyond the 100 days of the exhibition. After they were invited to be the Artistic Direction of documenta fifteen, the collective, in turn, invited documenta to be part of its ekosistem. The practice of lumbung enables an alternative economy of collectivity, shared resource building, and equitable distribution. It is anchored in the local and based on values such as humour, generosity, independence, transparency, sufficiency, and regeneration.
Subversive Film is a cinema research and production collective that aims to cast new light upon historic works related to Palestine and the region, to engender support for film preservation, and to investigate archival practices. Founded by Mohanad Yaqubi and Reem Shilleh in 2011, Subversive Film moves between Ramallah and Brussels, and was part of documenta fifteen.
This evening is hosted by the Kitchen. Kitchen Broadcast is an ongoing online conversation, listening to different voices, rhythms and sounds that reflect contemporary situations crossing their path in Brussels.
(*) lumbung is the Indonesian word for a communal rice-barn, where the surplus harvest is stored for the benefit of the community.
Programme 24 January, ERG (open access)
9:30h Doors open
10h
14h
offee break
16:15h
17:15h
18h Snack break
18:30h
rinks
Practical information
Dates, times, locations, languages:
23/01, 20-22h
!RSVP, for reservations send an email to: thekitchenbxl@riseup.net
The Kitchen
c/o Globe Aroma
Moutstraat 26 rue de la Braie
1000 Brussels
Official language: English
24/01, 9:30-21h
Open access
École de Recherche Graphique (ERG)
Edelknaapstraat 87 rue du Page
1050 Brussels
Official languages: English & French
The Kitchen is a safehouse and a refuge for filmmakers, artists, and other cultural workers in and passing through Brussels, a meeting point for collaborative praxes.
radical_house is a long term project that stems from radical_hope’s practices: it presents a physical place, a framework and a logic. Initiated in 2020 by Heike Langsdorf, radical_house is currently co-curated together with Simone Basani and Alice Ciresola.
école de recherche graphique (ERG) is a place of artistic, plastic and graphic practices that enter theoretical and formal risk zones. A place and pedagogies to define and redefine collectively. It is a place where you can learn from what is not working. A place of research, therefore.