Today the project of art institutions is coined or at least influenced by the dependency on external, and increasingly private funding, which implies the mission to attract the masses and deliver visitors numbers to the funding bodies. One could say that the “corporate turn” in the institutional landscape mirrors the general power relations of a late capitalist, neo-liberal constitution. In this current situation, which goes hand in hand with the dismantling of the welfare state, a new orientation for emancipatory forms of action in the institutionalized art field appears to be needed. This first of all brings us back to a very fundamental question: what do we actually expect from an art institution? What do we want an institution to stand for? After introducing the historical situation of the art institution as a national project, I will examine new institutional forms in their capacity to create a new, post-national sense of belonging.
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Nina Möntmann is Professor and Head of Department of Art Theory and the History of Ideas at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm. From 2003 to 2006 she was Curator at the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art (NIFCA) in Helsinki and curated the Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia at the 52nd Biennial of Venice 2007. She has been curatorial advisor for Manifesta 7, 2008 and is curating a group exhibition for The Power Plant in Toronto (Dec. 2008). Möntmann is correspondent for Artforum, and contributes to Le Monde Diplomatique, Parachute, metropolis m, Frieze and others.
Recent publications: Rana Dasgupta, Nina Möntmann, Avi Pitchon (Ed.), Manifesta 7 Companion Book, Milan 2008; Nina Möntmann (Ed.) Art and its Institutions, London (Black Dog Publishing) 2006; Nina Möntmann, Yilmaz Dziewior (Ed.), Mapping a City, Stuttgart (Hatje Cantz) 2005; Nina Möntmann, Kunst als sozialer Raum, Köln (Walther König) 2002; lives in Hamburg and Stockholm.
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*organised by: [BLOK] – Lokalna baza za osvježavanje kulture in collaboration with G-MK
*contact*: Vesna Vuković, vesna@urbanfestival.hr
*supported by: Ministarstry of Culture Republic of Croatia, Zagreb City Office for Culture, Nacionalna zaklada za razvoj civilnoga društva
