14 - 19 January 2007 – Full programme
Day One
Sunday 14 January 2007 was the first day of the Romanian curators’ visit to London, organised by E-cart.ro Association together with the Romanian Cultural Centre London, supported by the Ratiu Family Foundation UK.
The participating curators came from the major hubs of contemporary art in Romania: Catalin Gheorghe and Livia Pancu from Iasi, North East Romania; Levente Kozma and Ileana Pintilie from Timisoara, Western Romania; Alina Serban and Oana Tanase from Bucharest, Romania’s capital; and Attila Tordai from Cluj, in Transylvania. They were accompanied by curator Raluca Voinea, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, who coordinated the project with advice from Dr Mike Phillips OBE (Tate).
Immediately after their arrival in London, in order for them to take full advantage of what London has to offer, the visiting group of curators was whisked away to Tate Britain. Here they were received by Kirstie Beaven and Dr Mike Phillips. On this visit, the Romanian curators were treated to a guided tour of The Turner Prize exhibition. This was a good opportunity to hear about one of the most interesting contemporary art prizes, one that manages with every edition to create a lively discussion around the meaning of art in the contemporary world.
The next stop was Tate Modern, most easily reached from Millbank by using the Tate Boat. Here the group visited an exhibition of the very influential Swiss artists, Peter Fischli and David Weiss. The relentless cultural march continued with a visit to the ICA, on the Mall, for the ‘Alien Nation’ Show.
At the end of their first busy day in London the visitors took part in an informal event at the offices of the Romanian Cultural Centre London. Here, they had the opportunity to relax, recount the events of the day, and to meet a number of Romanian and British professionals from the cultural domain for a glass of wine and a light snack.
Day Two
The second day of the London adventure of the Romanian group of curators, Monday 15 January 2007, started with an extensive visit to Tate Modern, the museum of modern and contemporary art, and also to the Tate Bookshop, a place where art professionals can literally lose themselves browsing through the latest editorial releases in art books and catalogues.
After this informative visit, the group continued with a visit to Central St Martin’s College of Art, at the offices of ‘Afterall’ journal of contemporary art. ‘Afterall’ provides a forum for the consideration of contemporary art practice, focusing on the work of living individual artists or artist collectives.
The Romanian guests then went on to the Courtauld Institute of Art, where they met with Claire Bishop, former Tutor in Critical Theory in the Curating Contemporary Art department at the Royal College of Art. Besides being an expert in curatorial practice, Ms Bishop is also well acquainted with the Romanian contemporary art scene.
After this meeting, the official research programme of the day ended, leaving room for some well deserved relaxation with a Chinese meal, and a night wandering in the world-famous London hot spots of Covent Garden and Soho.
Day Three
In the third day of their visit to London, Tuesday 16 January 2007, the Romanian curators visited the Camden Arts Centre to see ‘David Austen - Smoking Moon’ (new film) and Victor Grippo (Argentinean artist interested in alchemical properties).
In the afternoon the curators had an informal meeting and discussion with writer and independent curator Teresa Gleadowe, former Head of Curating Contemporary Arts at the RCA, who established the course in 1992. The visitors and Ms Gleadowe discussed at length on the topic of the statute and hardships of being an independent curator, as well as on who the funding bodies in the UK are. Central to the discussion was the problem of looking for funding, and how to work with new factors and concepts in curatorial practice (such as diversity, or accessibility).
The next appointment in the visitors’ schedule was with Professor Irit Rogoff, Chair of Art History and Visual Culture at Goldsmiths College. Irit Rogoff is a specialist in the field of visual culture and critical theory. Among the subjects touched in the meeting were the issue of international networks (East-East, East-West), the creation of web archives – or what could be termed the after-life of real exhibitions. Also, into the discussion came the subject of ‘Curatorial / Knowledge’, a new ‘think tank’ PhD programme started recently at Goldsmiths. An idea debated was that of the own learning process (self-formation) which appears to matter most; audience numbers being less important. As there are no strict definitions for professions nowadays, fluidity became a norm in contemporary curatorial practice: ‘migrations’ take place from artists to curators and from theoreticians to curators etc. Other ideas present in the talks were those of Ephemeral/Practical, the emphasis on independent and creative curators, not associated with institutions, as well as a presentation of education in the UK, bureaucracy, institutions’ boards, and how to by-pass the system.
After a Spanish dinner with Elena Crippa, curator at the Lisson Gallery, the Romanian guests went to see the Whitechapel Project Space, with co-curator Richard Birkett; they also took part in a live concert with artists’ bands, organised in an East London club.
Day Four
In the fourth day of their trip to London, Wednesday 17 January 2007, the curators spent a good part of the morning at the Museums in South Kensington, continuing in the afternoon with a visit at the Serpentine Gallery. There they had the opportunity to see the show ‘In the darkest hour there may be light. Works from Damien Hirst’s murderme collection’.
The day continued with a presentation on contemporary art in Romania and the visiting curators’ projects there, for the benefit of the students in the MA Curating Contemporary Art course of the Royal College of Art. This presentation was very successful and the students were very interested to hear about the Romanian art and its curatorial practices and issues.
In the late afternoon, the visitors came to the offices of the Romanian Cultural Centre in Regent Street for a meeting with Professor Richard Demarco CBE, a great friend of Romania and the promoter of Romanian artists such as Paul Neagu, Ion Bitzan, and Horia Bernea, in Britain in the 1970s. Professor Demarco presented succinctly his long successful practice and launched an appeal for Romanian contemporary art to be better represented in the UK.
After a spot of refreshment, the visitors then departed for the Chelsea Art Space where a new exhibition is being installed. The curators of this show are Matt Packer and Kim Dhillon. In Autumn 2005, Kim was part of the group of British curators visiting Romania. The day ended in a get-together with a group of British artists and curators, where everyone had the chance to know each other better, in a friendly atmosphere.
Day Five
The fifth day in London of the Romanian curators, Thursday 18 January 2007, started early with a visit at the Gasworks Gallery, Studios and International Residency Programme, in south London. Gasworks is made up of a gallery and fifteen artists’ studios, among which three are reserved for an International Residency Programme that enables non-UK based artists to live and work in London for a period up to three months. The Romanian guests met Alessio Antoniolli, the Gasworks’ director, who made a comprehensive presentation of their programmes, and stated their interest in artistic worldwide cooperation.
There followed a discussion on the state of the arts in western contemporary society, with a stress on the idea of artist-run and artist oriented galleries, and their importance. The examples of London galleries such as Cubitt, Matt’s Gallery, Chisenhale, Studio Voltaire, and Showroom, were also discussed with Nav Haq, curator, head of exhibitions at Gasworks.
The visitors then spoke about local and national art networks in Romania and Eastern Europe, and also presented their interests and curatorial practices. The talk then turned to the subject of the advantages and disadvantages of working in the centre or at the periphery, on artistic isolation, and the frequent lack of interest in the centre in the accomplishments and views of those working in more remote and culturally poorer areas.
In the early afternoon, the visitors went for an official visit to the Hayward Gallery, one of the most important spaces for displaying contemporary art in London, opened in 1968. Here they were received by the gallery’s director, Ralph Rugoff, for a presentation of the gallery and a talk on contemporary art.
Late afternoon the curators went to the East End, to Brick Lane and to the gallery Hauser & Wirth Coppermill, to see the spectacular installation of artist Christoph Buchel.
This day was made more special by a celebration: it was the birthday of our friend Levente Kozma, who had a very active time of it.
The day ended with a glass of champagne to the health of the birthday boy, and fun all around (followed by the realisation that the visit would end the next day).
Day Six and Last
The sixth and last day of the Romanian curators’ visit, Friday 19 January 2007, started early in the morning with some of them going to the independent galleries in East End, some to Tate Britain to see artist Mark Wallinger’s new installation, State Britain, and some to the V&A Museum.
In the early afternoon, the curators came together for the last meeting in the programme, with Nicolae Ratiu, Chairman of the Ratiu Foundation UK and Ramona Mitrica, Director of the Romanian Cultural Centre in London. Also present was Elisabeth Ratiu, trustee of the Foundation. The discussion was moderated by Dr Mike Phillips, the adviser for this trip.
The lively discussion touched on various subjects relevant to curatorial practice and to problems in the field of contemporary culture. Dr Phillips presented current ideas on cultural capital, and who owns culture. Funding issues were also discussed – what are they in the UK and Romania, and how can they be solved.
The Romanian visitors spoke about Romanian issues in the world of art, such as corporate or private sponsorship versus state or local council sponsorship.
Following this exposé, Mr Nicolae Ratiu thanked all the curators for their presence in the programme and for their interest in Romanian-British cultural cooperation. He urged the group to continue to work together and to create a better art-network in Romania, an idea which was discussed by the curators in other meetings, as well. Mr Ratiu expressed his hope that their London experience will benefit other artists and art professionals in Romania.
An issue highlighted by the Romanian visitors was that of Romanian contemporary art, and the need to re-discuss and reassess it. Such reassessments should definitely come in the case of Romanian art of the 1960-80s, and of Romanian art which now is to be found abroad – as with artists such as Paul Neagu or Ion Bitzan.
The problem of collecting and acquisitions in Romania was also presented, and the topic was what could be done to encourage Romanian collectors to invest in contemporary Romanian art, especially considering that the biggest interest comes from foreign nationals and institutions. Who decides the buying policies and what factors influence these decisions?
As this was the last day of the visit, the discussion concluded with a glass of champagne, and with a toast to the health of all present and to the success of future Romanian-British cultural exchanges. After this, the curators were whisked away to the airport, arriving late at night in Romania.
This program was a ‘sequel’ to the one organised by Visiting Arts UK with the support of the Ratiu Family Foundation UK between 16-21 October 2005 – “UK Curators trip to Romania”. On that occasion, six curators based in the UK visited a few art centres in Romania (Bucharest, Iasi, Cluj). You can read on the website www.e-cart.ro/curators the series of interviews with the participating curators, as well as a presentation of the project. The version presented on the website is in English. A version in Romanian was published in the supplement of the weekly magazine “Revista 22”, edited by artist Dan Perjovschi (nr 877; 29 December 2006 - 04 January 2007; Arhiva www.revista22.ro). The conclusions of the Romanian curators’ trip are also going to be published in due time.
Note to editors:
Should you be interested in more information on this project, and/or wish to publish a material related to it, please write an e-mail at ramonamitrica@romanianculturalcentre.org.uk
