Impakt Festival 2013:
Capitalism Catch-22
30 October–3 November 2013
Impakt is pleased to present a first preview of its twenty-fourth annual festival. In the programme, three curators invited by Impakt show different perspectives on the dilemmas of our economic system. Capitalism, its roots, structures and its future are the vantage points of screenings, exhibitions and presentations. The Amsterdam collective Monnik (NL), Florian Wüst (DE) and Benjamin Fallon (UK) have curated a diverse and engaging programme. The festival will take place from 30 October to 3 November in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Impakt Festival 2013: Capitalism Catch-22 aims to go beyond prevailing clichés. In their separate programmes, the curators share the vision that we ourselves are inevitably a part of the economic, social and ideological system that is defined by capitalism. The problems of the system are examined in depth, avoiding the usual easy finger-pointing at others. Through lectures, visual art and film programmes, Capitalism Catch-22 will look at the past, present and the future of capitalism, and its possible alternatives.
Highlights from Impakt Festival 2013: Capitalism Catch-22
The social and economic transformations in the 20th and 21st centuries which have drastically altered our society are central to the film programme Crude Economy curated by Florian Wüst. The screenings include the history of industrialisation with films like Die Börsenkönigin by Edmund Edel from 1916; the reconstruction after WWII with The Shoemaker and the Hatter, a Marshall Plan animation by John Halas & Joy Batchelor; and the independence from colonial rule, with the Indian film I am 20 by S.N.S. Sastry. A variety of current developments in the world of economy and finance are reflected on by Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson’s Lobbyists; Vermeir & Heiremans’s The Residence (a wager for the afterlife); Fictions and Futures #1 – Happiness in the Abstract by Arne Hector & Minze Tummescheit; Nicht ohne Risiko by Harun Farocki; The Anarchist Banker by Jan Peter Hammer and Zachary Formwalt’s unsupported transit.
The exhibition To The Reader stems from the idea that capitalism is primarily a social relation that defines our behaviour. With a certain degree of humour, curator Benjamin Fallon investigates the system from the inside out. Through new and existing works, Fallon examines important moments from our recent history and reflects on their social influence. The show features, amongst others, work by Liam Gillick, Bureau d’etudes, Marika Troili and Paul Sullivan.
In Work Songs, the Amsterdam collective Monnik investigates how we give meaning to the world through the lens of our work. Concrete outcomes are presented through a daily ‘Capitalist Metabolism Tour’ through Utrecht; and the African Smati Turtle 1 by Melle Smets and Joost van Onna: the first African automobile built of scrap metal and with System D craftsmanship. The lecture programme ‘Fruits of our Labour’ features an array of responses to the imminent effects of technological unemployment, exploring a spectrum that ranges from transhumanism to a Luddite reset of society.
Music and Panorama
Furthermore, the Capitalism Catch-22 music programme explores the fickle relationships between economy and pop culture and the role of music within labour. With a presentation by Marek Korczynski and a context-based DJ battle.
Alongside the Capitalism Catch-22 programme, Impakt is presenting the yearly Panorama programme, with screenings and events of the most remarkable recent art film, video and media projects.
Upcoming Impakt dates
Beginning 4 October: The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology (by Sophie Fiennes), with Slavoj Žižek. An Impakt-organised tour through various cities in the Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Haarlem, Maastricht, Delft, Groningen, Hilversum, Breda, Enschede and Nijmegen.
18 October: Opening of festival exhibition To The Reader by Benjamin Fallon at BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht
30 October–3 November: Impakt Festival 2013: Capitalism Catch-22. Keep up to date with all the developments via the website and Facebook.
