Space for Encounters – Art Mediation

Space for Encounters – Meetings, Happenings and Inputs in Art Mediation

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Lucerne

The University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Lucerne does extensive research in this field and offers a Master of Arts in Art Teaching and is hence especially engaged in developing new models of art mediation which focus on the inclusion of non-experts.

A collateral event of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Space for Encounters – Meetings, Happenings and Inputs in Art Mediation at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale is a closed workshop and lecture on art mediation organised by the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Lucerne at the invitation of swissnex India and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council, in collaboration with the Foundation of Contemporary Art of India (FICA) and Kochi Biennale Foundation.

Art mediation is a growing field of activity in an increasingly flourishing arts environment. The reasons for this intensified engagement is not only justified by the increasing number of exhibitions and initiatives, but much more by the desire to make the art world more accessible and for it to actively address and invite a wider range of different audiences. Along with the Biennales there have been several initiatives that aim to include groups that are unfamiliar with contemporary art. The formats invented therefore try to break with the traditional idea of art mediation with experts involved in the dissemination process. Diverse, and equally valuable approaches, encourage non-specialists to guide people through these exhibitions, using their words when explaining the art works or to reconceptualise guided tours as discussions among peers or to use performances for playful access.

Workshop
16 – 26 January 2017, from 10.00 – 12.00 noon and 14.00 – 16.00 pm
Kochi Biennale Foundation (1/1903, Kunnumpuram, Fort Kochi PO, Kerala

Keynote Lectures
27 January 2017 at 16:00 pm
The Pavilion, Cabral Yard, Kochi

Project Coordinators

Dr. Rachel Mader,Head of Competence Center Art, Design and Public Spheres, Lucerne/Bern

Vidya Shivadas, Director, Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art, Delhi

Alekha Ranjitsinh, Education and Community Coordinator, Kochi Biennale Foundation, Kochi

Assisting Student Group: Johanna Gschwend / Luzern, Reto Lienhard /Zürich, Elia Malevez/
Luzern, Stefan Tschumi /Zürich, Nicolas Witschi /Ruswil

Details of workshop:
The workshop in Kochi will be led by Lena Eriksson, artist and lecturer, Lucerne / Basel. The workshop offers insights into current models of art mediation, initiates practical engagement with possible mediation strategies developed for the context of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, and will attempt the realisation of a tool box. With these tools the workshop participants will be able to continue to work and experiment till the end of the Biennale. Furthermore, the tool box is envisaged as a basic set of tools that can be extended and adjusted to other exhibition contexts.

Details of keynote lectures:
The key-note speakers are arts educator and didact, Dr Susanne Kudorfer, and art historian, Dr Annapurna Garimella.

Dr Susanne Kudorfer
From documenta 12 (2012) to Manifesta 11 (2016), recent debates and practices in art education

Dr Annapurna Garimella
The Classroom, the Gallery and the Public

The project is initiated by Hochschule Luzern – Design & Kunst, swissnex India, Bangalore, Kochi Biennale Foundation, Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council.

Photo credit: The Pavilion, Cabral Yard, Kochi by Chandrika Grover Ralleigh.