Situated Institutions, Relational Practices, Liminal Studios

Situated Institutions, Relational Practices, Liminal Studios explores the civic role and agency of artistic, curatorial, and institutional practices amid growing societal divides, diminishing arts funding, and escalating socio-environmental crises. As outdated systems collapse and new ones remain undefined, cultural institutions and practitioners rethink their internal practices and external connections within a rapidly shifting world.

This two-day event brings together practices, projects, and processes that interweave the principles of Situatedness, Relationality, and Liminality, forming a vital framework for navigating this transitional moment. Situated practices respond to and are shaped by their communities and contexts, while critically examining the politics of locality, particularly as weaponized by conservative agendas. A relational approach fosters interdependence and collaborations that counter social and ecological fragmentation. Operating within liminal spheres, these practices challenge binary distinctions between interior/exterior, organization/public, and process/presentation, while reimagining authorship, ownership, and access.

Given the capacity of art and its institutions to shape identities, communities, and visions of futures, can these “threshold institutions” and “liminal practices” open new possibilities for art’s engagement with society while anticipating what lies ahead?

The program features contributions from artists, curators, institutional leaders, and professionals across disciplines. On April 10, the event presents site-symbiotic practices shaped by and responsive to their socio-spatial contexts, navigating liminal spaces beyond rural and urban, center and periphery, and cultural and political fractures and frictions. From the border between Italy-Slovenia, to Palestine, Stuttgart, Cameroon, and Mexico’s rainforest, participants will explore multidisciplinary projects where cultural production catalyzes socio-environmental sustainability in communities subjected to wider geopolitical forces. These global perspectives will intertwine with Maastricht’s civic imagination through interventions in public space and dialogue with citizens.

On April 11, presentations, screenings, and discussions will encourage participants to rethink existing institutional structures and envision new possibilities. Smaller exchange groups will foster more intimate dialogues between speakers, peers, and the public. A collective assembly will then deepen discussions on speculative models, decolonial approaches, collective practices, and liminal methodologies, exploring how institutions and practitioners can remain meaningfully responsive to rapid socio-cultural and environmental transformations.

The Jan van Eyck Academie invites peers, practitioners, and the public to join in person or via livestream for selected lectures. Find more details about contributors and the schedule on the Jan van Eyck website.

With contributions by: Al-Wah'at Collective—Ailo Ribas, Gabriella Demczuk, Areej Ashhab, Angela Serino, Aude Christel Mgba, Basecamp for Tactical Imaginaries, Bebe Books—Mert Sen, Michiel Terpelle, Noam Youngrak Son & Ruud van Moorleghem, Fatoş Üstek, Giulia Bellinetti (Jan van Eyck Academie), Guy Woueté, Hicham Khalidi (Jan van Eyck Academie), James Notin, Khandakar Ohida, Luca Conte, Miriam Hillawi Abraham, Nida Sinnokrot (Sakyia), Pete Fung & Samein Shamsher (The Outpost for Unreal Institutions), Rafael Kouto, Robida—Aljaž Škrlep & Vida Rucli, Rouzbeh Shadpey, Samuel Brzeski, Saverio Cantoni, Tamarind Rossetti & Stephen Wright (Künstlerhaus Stuttgart), Topote de Acahual—Ana Emilia Felker, Esteban Azuela, Emilia Lopez, Mauricio Patrón Rivera, Yoeri Guépin, among others to be announced soon.

Curated by: Bruno Alves de Almeida

Situated Institutions, Relational Practices, Liminal Studios builds on previous editions of the Jan van Eyck’s annual series Urgency Intensive, which has included projects such as IPACC—Intergovernmental Panel on Art and Climate Change (2021/22), integrating art into global scientific and policy frameworks, and Murmuring Matter: On the Cosmopolitics of Materials (2023), exploring human-environment relationships through site-specific incursions in Maastricht.

Supported by: Maastricht Municipality, Province of Limburg, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands.