Online symposium: What can the Black Square do? On curiosities and utilities of Avant-garde collections

A project such as ‘The Avant-garde Museum’ requires not only extensive research, but also international cooperation on many levels. To accomplish such a project, one needs to cooperate with researchers, museum institutions and private collectors, as well as go through  many complex procedures laid down by countries to protect their most valuable cultural assets. Above all, however, an exhibition devoted to the Avant-garde needs a compelling narrative that would successfully engage diverse contemporary audiences. 

What is common to contemporary curators, museum professionals and avant-garde artists is their belief in the social potential of art and the conviction that it must be disseminated. During the symposium researchers, curators and directors of institutions that take special care of this radical legacy will be sharing their ideas as to how to promote avant-garde art. 

The event accompanies the exhibition 'The Avant-garde Museum' telling the story of four initiatives undertaken by artists in Russia, Germany, the United States, and Poland to promote new art. More details about the project. 

Participants of the symposium:

PhD Marion Ackermann (Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden), Masha Chlenova (The New School), Irina Karasik (State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), Rita Kersting (Ludwig Museum in Koln), Natacha Milovzorova (Kandinsky Biblioteque, Centre Pompidou, Paris), Daniel Muzyczuk (Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź), Agnieszka Rejniak-Majewska (University of Lodz), Marcelo Rezende (Archiv der Avantgarden), Alexandra Selivanova (Avant-garde Museum, Moscow), Ann Temkin (MoMA), Maria Tsantsanoglou (MOMus-Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection, Thessaloniki), Stephanie Weber (Lenbachhaus, Munich), Prof. Dr. Isabel Wünsche (Jacobs University Bremen), and Tomasz Załuski (University of Lodz, Strzeminski Academy of Art, Łódź) 

Available on online platforms:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/muzeumsztuki,
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCehGOJUZUaCLgkIaM65soBQ,
Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/event/1876476/683459b387

Tickets for the event the courtesy of AW Marketing. 

Please note that the presentations will not be accesible after the event.

 

The event will be held in English. 

 

Symposium Agenda: 

1.45 pm (UTC/GMT +1 h)    Opening remarks: Agnieszka Pindera and Jarosław Suchan, curators of the exhibition ‘The Avant-garde Museum’

2.00 pm (UTC/GMT +1 h)    Developing a habit: Irina Karasik and Prof. Dr. Isabel Wünsche in conversation with Masha Chlenova

In one of the manifestos of the Société Anonyme, Katherine S. Dreier compared art and olives – stating that undoubtedly in the case of both taste is linked to being well-bred. How was the appetite for modern art shaped in the early 1920s? How did the ideas for educating the masses differ in Russia and the United States? In a conversation with Masha Chlenova, Irina Karasik and Prof. Dr. Isabel Wünsche will talk about historical examples of the dissemination of new art as well as their own research and popularization projects.  

 

3.15 pm (UTC/GMT +1 h)   Shaping identity: Alexandra Selivanova and Stephanie Weber in conversation with Tomasz Załuski 

What is the impact of history on contemporary institutional identity? Is it possible to talk about the past in a contemporary way? In a conversation with Tomasz Załuski these questions will be raised by Stephanie Weber, one of the curators of the exhibition ‘Group Dynamics. Collectives of the Modernist Period’, and Alexandra Selivanova, director of Moscow's Avant-garde Museum. The institutions share an interesting history of place and how they rework it through their programmes. Stephanie Weber represents the municipal museum, whose identity as a former residence of the conservative painter Franz von Lenbach has been changed by the gift of a painter Gabriele Münter who donated a collection of art from the circles of the Blue Rider while Alexandra Selivanova manages a museum based in a model constructivist housing estate.

 

4.30 pm (UTC/GMT +1 h)    Keeping a fire burning: Marion Ackermann, Natacha Milovzorova, Rita Kersting, Marcelo Rezende and Maria Tsantsanoglou in conversation with Agnieszka Rejniak-Majewska 

Institutional collections of avant-garde art require not only constant conservation efforts and care, but also curatorial or critical reflection. This seems to be the period most frequently falsified by dishonest participants in the art market. As part of the panel, we will talk, among other things, about the ‘Original and Fakes’ project, which aimed at a thorough examination of the Ludwig Museum's collection. The directors of leading European collections will also talk about contemporary strategies for working with the heritage of the Avant-garde, developed in their teams: State Art Collections in Dresden and the Museum of Modern Art-Costakis Collection in Thessaloniki. The Centre Pompidou will also present projects inviting contemporary artists to dialogue with the art of the past century. 

 

6.15 pm (UTC/GMT +1 h)  Name giving: Ann Temkin in conversation with Daniel Muzyczuk 

How does an institution that has been setting trends for many decades, such as MoMA in NYC, redefine the canon that it itself contributed to in the second decade of the 21^st century? In a conversation with the chief curator at the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, the head of the Painting and Sculpture Department at the world's most famous museum will talk about the backstage of the current exhibition of the collection, as well as the recently redefined mission.