During 2011 Platform has chosen to work with the theme To have / To own; both because it fits well as a theme for a late 10th (11th!) anniversary, and as a reaction to the current cultural situation where art as well as other cultural fields have gone through big social, cultural, economic and ecologic changes. The selection of the theme is based on the assumption that different artists’ and individuals’ reactions on, and understandings of, “to have” and “to own” arouses questions and generates discussion on cultural heritage, nomadic patterns, communication, independence and sustainability.
Symposium “TO HAVE / TO OWN”, 23rd–25th September 2011, Vaasa City Hall, Chamber Music Room, Vaasa, Finland.
The symposium allows for discussion and collaboration on issues related to three given topics; activism and democracy in contemporary art, artist identity and localness in a global context, and dealing with different forms of collectives and the engagement of the community.
| Friday September 23rd | |
| 15-15.30 | Ulrika Ferm (FIN/DE), artist, curator, Berlin; Introduction |
| 15.30-16.15 | Rolf Büchi (CH/GB), writer, London; Activating Democracy. www.iri-europe.org/en/publications/guidebooks www.activatingdemocracy.com |
| 16.15-17 | Jaana Kokko(FIN), artist, Helsinki, Thoughts on anarchism www.jaanakokko.com |
| 30 min. break | |
| 17.30-18.15 | Shelly Silver (USA), artist, New York; Response – Responsibility. www.shellysilver.com |
| 18.15-19 | Per Huttner (SE), artist; Can art change the world? www.perhuttner.com |
| 19-20 | attending opening City Art Hall, Vaasa |
| 20- | “Vaasa in Luck”- closing ceremony at the Platform studio http://luck.random-people.net |
| Saturday September 24th | |
| 11-11.45 | Mika Hannula (FIN/DE), writer and curator, Berlin; Modernity Retired – Outline of a Project. |
| 11.45-12.30 | Esther Pilkington (GB), artist and curator, Wales; Collaborations – The Things We Do Together. http://geheimagentur.net http://random-people.net |
| 90 mins for lunch | |
| 14.00 – 14.45 | Nina Czegledy (HU), artist, curator and writer; Paradigm Shifts in Contemporary Media Art Practice. www.ninaczegledy.net |
| 14.45-15.30 | Kennedy Browne (IE), collaborative practice of Gareth Kennedy and Sarah Browne, Ireland; How Capital Moves. www.kennedybrowne.com |
| coffee 30 mins | |
| 16.00-16.45 | Helga Steppan (SE), artist; “Lost and Found” site-specific project. www.helgasteppan.com |
| Sunday September 25th | |
| 11-11.45 | Stine Hebert (DK), acting director, BAC, Visby; Institutionalization of the Self-Organised. |
| 11.45-12.30 | Maureen Connor (USA), artist, New York; How to be an Artist in Residence for the US Government – a project of the Institute for Wishful Thinking. www.theiwt.com |
| 30 min break | |
| 13-13.45 | Sophie Hope, practitioner, London; Censorship, compromise and cancellation? The culture of commissioning socially engaged art in the UK. www.welcomebb.org.uk |
| 13.45-14.30 | Minna Heikinaho (FIN), artist, Helsinki. Experiences in the urban space – the incompleteness of community art. www.saasanoa.com |