Who´s to follow?

The symposium Who´s to follow? will explore the purpose of mapping out and getting familiar with the artistic landscapes of three Europe Union candidate nations: Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Central figures of each country practicing in the field of art are invited for round-table discussions, in order to discuss and exchange insights on recent developments in the field of art, education and the prospective future of Europe.

Programme:
Saturday 11 December 2004

11.00 Round-table discussion 'Recent Developments'
Introductory discussion to present a survey of the recent developments in each of the three EU candidate countries. A prominent figure of each country will give a short presentation with video material. During the round-table these presentations will act as a departure point for further discussion.
With a.o.
Vasif Kortun, Director of Platform, Istanbul
Boris Danailov, Director of the National Gallery of Contemporary Art, Sofia
Maria Rus Bojan, curator, Amsterdam and former Director of Sidan Cultural Foundation, Bucharest
Saskia Bos, (moderator) Director of De Appel, Amsterdam

12.30 Presentation nr. 1 by Vasif Kortun

14.00 Guest Nation I - encounter with Mircea Cantor, artist
Born in 1977 in Romania, Mircea Cantor has been living and working in Paris since 1998. He has gained attention due to projects such as Nulle part Ailleurs (Traversées, ARC, 2001) and Double Head Matches (Forwart, Bruxelles, 2001). Mircea Cantor is also active in the field of graphic design and editions (Version Magazine).

14.30 Presentation nr. 2

15.00 Round-table discussion 'Future of Europe'
The question 'What does the European framework specifically have to offer artists and other practitioners in the field of art in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey?' plays a central role in this discussion. What methods and tools of collaboration and association have to be created that do not exist as of yet? How can problematical issues between Europe and these candidate nations be reduced that exist due to cultural specificity, varying administrational traditions, unequal circumstances in which art is practiced and the explicit incomparable social and economic conditions in which artists live and work? Does the future for these candidate countries lie within the domain of Europe, while other regions may be seen as competitors?
With a.o.
Dimitri Konstantinidis, Director Apollonia, Strassbourg
Ami Barak, Artistic Director of the Visual Art department of the city of Paris and President of IKT
Thomas Michelon, (moderator) Cultural Attaché of the French Embassy, The Hague

16.30 Guest Nation II - encounter with Plamen Dejanoff, artist
The Bulgarian Plamen Dejanoff is one of the most prominent artists of his generation that focuses on the economical processes/effects of the art world.

Sunday 12 December 2004

10.30 Presentation nr. 3 by Maria Rus Bojan, Bucharest/Amsterdam

11.00 Guest Nation III - encounter with Banu Cennetoglu, artist
This young Turkish artist was a resident at the Rijksakademie, Amsterdam from 2002 until 2004. Her photos and publications have been presented at various international expositions such as the last Biennial in Berlin (2003).

11.30 Paris/Amsterdam/Istanbul/Sofia/Bucharest 'Organizing a network, and building a network through educational programs'.
The matter of dominant images and the manner in which French and Dutch professionals view the Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish field of art is a central topic in this discussion. The vision and approach of French and Dutch professionals will be analyzed from the perspective of participants from the three countries in question, who will also give their vision on the cultural models of the European nation-states. Specifically, projects will be discussed and analyzed - from the Biennial of Istanbul to other definite projects realized by curators and directors of institutions - and not exclusively the social, intellectual and/or practical networks that have emerged in the recent past.
With a.o
Ebru Özseçen, (artist) Istanbul/Amsterdam
Stefan Nikolaev, (artist) Sofia/Paris
Janwillem Schrofer, Director Rijksakademie, Amsterdam
Ann Demeester, (moderator) Director of W139, Amsterdam

12.45: End

Organised together with French Embassy, The Hague and Maison Descartes, Amsterdam
With the support of l'Association Française d'Action Artistique, Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Paris