The Demodernising Possibility
The talk will start by looking at the history of a European colonial art museum. It argues that the profound experience of colonialism by and in western Europe has left a weeping wound that still has worldly implications. The artworld is already working with the tools of decoloniality and post-colonialism. That is a necessary but perhaps not sufficient process, especially when it comes to western Europe and its colonial settlements - the core zone of the colonial agency. By digging into the partial scabs that have formed around modernity and colonialism, there might be a possibility to undermine the grid of the modern-colonial matrix. This demodernising process is one that has much wider implications than art alone, but the contention of the talk is that art might be an appropriate place to start, given its traditions of autonomy and experimentation.
The talk will be about 45-50 mins followed by a discussion with Remco de Blaaij.
Meeting ID: 948 4762 5603
Passcode: 674655
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Charles Esche is director of Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven and professor of contemporary art and curating at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London where he works with Exhibition Studies. He is a visiting professor at Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht and chair of CASCO, Utrecht. He is currently writing a book on Demodern Thinking with Prof. Walter Mignolo and preparing an exhibition project in the Netherlands and Australia called The Four Soils for 2023/4.
Outwith the Van Abbemuseum, he (co-)curated Power and Other Things, Europalia, BOZAR, Brussels 2017; NSK State Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2017; Art Turns, Word Turns, Museum MACAN, Jakarta 2017; Le Musée Égaré, Kunsthall Oslo 2017 and Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse 2016; Jakarta Biennale, 2015; 31st Sao Paulo Bienal, 2014, U3 Triennale, Ljubljana, 2011; RIWAQ Biennale, Palestine, 2007 and 2009; Istanbul Biennale, 2005; Gwangju Biennale, 2002 amongst other exhibitions. He received the 2012 Princess Margriet Award and the 2014 CCS Bard College Prize for Curatorial Excellence. From 2000-2004 he was director of Rooseum, Malmö, Sweden and before that worked at protoacademy, Edinburgh and Tramway, Glasgow in Scotland.
The Demodernising Possibility
The talk will start by looking at the history of a European colonial art museum. It argues that the profound experience of colonialism by and in western Europe has left a weeping wound that still has worldly implications. The artworld is already working with the tools of decoloniality and post-colonialism. That is a necessary but perhaps not sufficient process, especially when it comes to western Europe and its colonial settlements - the core zone of the colonial agency. By digging into the partial scabs that have formed around modernity and colonialism, there might be a possibility to undermine the grid of the modern-colonial matrix. This demodernising process is one that has much wider implications than art alone, but the contention of the talk is that art might be an appropriate place to start, given its traditions of autonomy and experimentation.
The talk will be about 45-50 mins followed by a discussion with Remco de Blaaij.
Meeting ID: 948 4762 5603
Passcode: 674655
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Charles Esche is director of Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven and professor of contemporary art and curating at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London where he works with Exhibition Studies. He is a visiting professor at Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht and chair of CASCO, Utrecht. He is currently writing a book on Demodern Thinking with Prof. Walter Mignolo and preparing an exhibition project in the Netherlands and Australia called The Four Soils for 2023/4.
Outwith the Van Abbemuseum, he (co-)curated Power and Other Things, Europalia, BOZAR, Brussels 2017; NSK State Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 2017; Art Turns, Word Turns, Museum MACAN, Jakarta 2017; Le Musée Égaré, Kunsthall Oslo 2017 and Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse 2016; Jakarta Biennale, 2015; 31st Sao Paulo Bienal, 2014, U3 Triennale, Ljubljana, 2011; RIWAQ Biennale, Palestine, 2007 and 2009; Istanbul Biennale, 2005; Gwangju Biennale, 2002 amongst other exhibitions. He received the 2012 Princess Margriet Award and the 2014 CCS Bard College Prize for Curatorial Excellence. From 2000-2004 he was director of Rooseum, Malmö, Sweden and before that worked at protoacademy, Edinburgh and Tramway, Glasgow in Scotland.
