Relationalities: Conditions of Interdependence

The Hochschule für Bildende Künste–Städelschule and Portikus are pleased to announce a joint symposium on June 12–13, 2026. Titled Relationalities: Conditions of Interdependence, the program focuses on curatorial and artistic practices which challenge, decentralize, or transform institutional structures and networks.

Friday, June 12, 2026, 6–7:30pm / Saturday, June 13, 2026, 1–8:30pm / Aula, Städelschule, Dürerstraße 10, 60596 Frankfurt am Main.

Rethinking and Reframing Institutional Structures
With Relationalities: Conditions of Interdependence, Städelschule and Portikus are inviting local and international artists, curators, and researchers to examine collective approaches that probe institutional structures and establish parallel material and affective economies.

What is the potential of collaborative practices in the artistic field, given the multiple social, political, and economic crises we are currently facing, and how do artists, curators, and cultural workers approach and reshape existing (infra)structures that enable or hinder collective initiatives?

The symposium begins on June 12 (6–7:30pm) with a keynote by curator and writer Hamza Walker, followed by a discussion with curator Karen Archey. On June 13 (1–8:30pm), the symposium is structured around three clusters: institutional boundaries and their transformation; relational economies and the circulation of art and knowledge; and educational formats and platform practices.

Presentations and discussions on these topics will be led by renowned speakers and interlocutors such as Zasha Colah, Niloufar Emamifar, Haja Fanta (RAW Material Company), Metro54, Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh (BlaxTARLINES), Sarah Pierce, and Mi You.

A key objective of the symposium is to explore how artistic and curatorial practices across the world develop strategies and methodologies of collaboration in reaction to their specific current political and economic conditions. Relationalities: Conditions of Interdependence examines how these approaches reconfigure existing institutions and foster para-institutional networks and structures of material and immaterial exchange in contemporary art today.

Concept by Juliane Bischoff, curator of Portikus, and Deiara Semeco Kouto, Städelschule program curator.

Rector Städelschule / Director Portikus: Barbara Clausen. Relationalities: Conditions of Interdependence is made possible by the support from Hessisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst.