Curating on the Minefield

For the finissage of the central exhibition of its 2022 edition, A War in the Distance, steirischer herbst is pleased to announce a one-day symposium and catalogue presentation.

Still on view through February 12, the exhibition at Neue Galerie Graz / Universalmuseum Joanneum invites visitors to engage with historical and contemporary works directly or indirectly about wars past and present. Confronting lesser-known 19th- and 20th-century paintings from Neue Galerie Graz’s collection with new works, most of them newly commissioned, it uncovers hidden stories from the uncomfortable past.

Before the exhibition ends, a day-long symposium on February 10 discusses the political pressures on curating today. What is Austria’s relation to its neighbors, especially in the Balkans, and how can the postcolonial pitfalls of curating across borders be avoided? What challenges do curators of contemporary art face with the rise of right-wing populism, and what alternative forms can succeed under increasingly authoritarian governance? How to deal with problematic legacies? How to reread histories of oppression in treasures of the past? These and similar questions are the focus of an afternoon of panel discussions with Zdenka Badovinac, Günther Holler-Schuster, Hou Hanru, Andreja Hribernik, Renan Laru-an, Matteo Lucchetti, Małgorzata Ludwisiak, Hajnalka Somogyi, and What, How & for Whom / WHW.

The symposium also includes a first look at the exhibition and festival catalogue. The richly illustrated publication, designed by Grupa Ee and published by Hatje Cantz (ISBN 978-3-7757-5476-7), documents the program of steirischer herbst ’22. Edited by Ekaterina Degot, David Riff, and Christoph Platz, it contains contributions by Alice Crary, Gudrun Danzer, Heimo Halbrainer, Günther Holler-Schuster, Tom Holert, Éva Kovács, Daniel Muzyczuk, and an interview with Manfried Rauchensteiner.

The day concludes with Emancipation of Wonder, a performance developed by artist duo Navaridas & Deutinger in collaboration with children and their specific perception of the works displayed in A War in the Distance. 

A detailed schedule and more information is available here.

If you wish to attend the symposium, we kindly ask you to register until February 8 via registration [​at​] steirischerherbst.at.

The panel discussions will also be livestreamed at www.steirischerherbst.at.