The City as a Narrative
Rakett in collaboration with Expodium
Sunday January 20th at 2-3pm
Roundtable and presentations followed by NIGHTWALKERS_UMEÅ#1
Keywords for the talk ‘City as Narrative’ by Expodium and Rakett, at Bildmuseet 2013.
Presentation and talk ‘City as Narrative’ by Expodium and Rakett, at Bildmuseet 2013.
Keywords for the talk ‘City as Narrative’ by Expodium and Rakett, at Bildmuseet 2013.
Exhibition view, Communitas, Bildmuseet in 2012, Umeå. Photo: Bildmuseet
Nightwalk#Umeå with Expodium (2013). Photo: Expodium
Nightwalk#Umeå with Expodium (2013). Photo: Expodium
Nightwalk#Umeå with Expodium (2013). Photo: Expodium
Nightwalk#Umeå with Expodium (2013). Photo: Expodium
Keywords for the talk ‘City as Narrative’ by Expodium and Rakett, at Bildmuseet 2013.
Drawing on their experiences from projects in different cities, contexts and countries Rakett and Expodium will present projects and thoughts around how to critically relate to the urban environments. How can one as an artist or other agent within the field of culture, actively relate to the layered geographies of our cities? During the roundtable and the presentations they will introduce methods and activities to enhance the perception of our environments, to better be aware of the dynamic relationship between the hardware and software of the city. Criticality in dealing with our own bodies and urban surroundings can be enhanced by supplying individual and collective observatory skills.
As part of the presentation Rakett will present and discuss some art projects that are a part of the newly released Art as Protagonist 2 publication. These works deal with city transformation processes and particularly questioning how to negotiate with the built environment. The publication is part of the exhibition project Common Lands – Allmannaretten that took the urban development in Bjørvika, Oslo as its starting point. COMMON LANDS – Allmannaretten was an exhibition project that utilised the process of redevelopment to highlight a number of issues associated with urban development, democracy, access to and the distribution of land.
Expodium has gained extended knowledge from their work and research in Utrecht, Detroit, Incheon and most recently in Belgrade. With this background they will present and relate to their perceptions of Umeå. They will also introduce NIGHTWALKERS a system of collective research and a playful method of critically engaging the urban environment and its transition processes.
After the talk Expodium invites you to join:
NIGHTWALKERS_UMEÅ #01: The City and Its Double
Duration: 4-6pm
If the Umea’s infrastructure is a designed script for preconceived narratives, then snow is the saboteur of all given scenarios and a catalyst for new ways of experiencing the city. Join us as we walk on it and investigate Umea ‘above’ and ‘under’– the city and its winter double – the city as a place of arrival – as a temporary place – as a backdrop for a new story. This is not a performance. This is an explorative walk shaped by observing what presents itself as given and merely insignificant.
NIGHTWALKERS is a series of voluntary collective night strolls in the city followed by a discussion. It is initiated by EXPODIUM as a tool for researching the subconscious relations between the participants and the land they walk on. It is a platform of knowledge exchange, a place of coming together and a mode of reading of, and ‘confronting with’ the area’s built environment.
Expodium is a collective dedicated to investigating, understanding and working with challenges that surface in transitional urban areas by initiating and facilitating interventions in public space. Their practice does not follow the general norm of knowledge production, but revolves around operations that gain vital information about the area and at the same time cause a direct effect in it.
For Expodium, translating and applying knowledge that emerges from diverse social contexts is an evolving series of abstractions – a process of trial and error. Expodium’s core members are Bart Witte (NL), Nikos Doulos (GR), Luc Janssens (NL) and Friso Wiersum (NL)
Jaan Evart is a graphic designer born in Tallinn, Estonia. Lives and works in Amsterdam and Tallinn. He graduated from the Estonian Academy of Arts in 2004, and studied Graphic Design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam 2004–07. He did a master course in Graphic Design at the Werkplaats Typografie, Arnhem and graduated 2009.
The City as a Narrative, Rakett in collaboration with Expodium was supported by Municipality of Bergen and Bildmuseet in Umeå.
