Hosted in Athens (Atene, Grecia / Athens, Greece, 22-29.05.2012)

Hosted in Athens
22-29 May 2012
various venues, Athens, GREECE
hostedinathens.tumblr.com

Christian Costa, Fabrizio Ajello

Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces]: Sant'Orsola stories

Hosted in Athens has invited groups of artists and collectives of different background and nationalities to present their activity in various buildings in the center of Athens through a series of events and exhibitions. The project intends to articulate and organize its potentials in the area of the historical center of Athens and to involve public and private venues that can host its program in the means of hospitality. The project seeks to advocate the local art scene and to introduce the work of international artists to the broader Athenian public. To provide the conditions for dialogue and collaboration between groups, communities and individuals and to establish connections between the cities involved emphasizing on the essence of networking and collectivity.

The participatory groups will be able to display their joint collaborations, shows and events in the context of a broader perspective that includes artists, curators, institutions and host venues. The aim of the project is to underpin the importance of collaboration, the individual participation and the exchange between different art scenes and to indicate new ways of working that embrace the values of exchange and hospitality.

Hosted In Athens is organized by Daily Lazy Projects (Dionisis Christofilogiannis, Stelios Karamanolis, Eva Mitala, Tula Plumi, Yorgos Stamkopoulos) based in Athens, Berlin and Cluj Napoca. 

In Athens Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces] will present "Sant'Orsola stories", a cycle of photos about the construction of the statue of Saint Ursula, which we made with the help of the people of the quarter and then carried in procession through the streets of Florence. The sensation for this action called again the media and city attention to the problems of the Sant'Orsola medieval monastery area, neglected for 30 years.

So far there is no news about the beginning of the redevelopment of the complex. In the central court is still open a 4 levels underground car park flooded by rain; weeds and shrubs are growing in the courtyards since thirty years; the huge windows on the outside are bricked up; facades were cemented; wood and stone were replaced by steel and concrete; frescoed vaults were covered with plaster. 
Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces] considers places like this as an opportunity to bring the activities of intellectuals and artists closer to the everyday life of the people, promoting new models of public art, local engagement, participation. In this way becomes possible to join social, political and artistic perspectives.

Participants groups/collectives:

BEST-OFF (Vlorë)

Blightman Bofiliou (Berlin)

Daily Lazy Projects (Athens)

Expograph (Vienna)

Front Views (Berlin)

GRUPPE UNO WIEN (Vienna)

Les Editions Horror Vacui (Paris)

Lykakis Karamanolis (Athens)

MUD OFFICE (Paris)

Nauru Project (online)

Niemandsland (Vienna)

P O S T (Athens)

SKOUZE3 (Athens)

Spazi Docili (Florence)

Trace (London)

Under Construction (Athens)

Versaweiss (Athens)

XYZ (Bratislava)

3 137 (Athens)

Artists: Alkan Nallbani, Artan Shabani, Adrian Isufi, Ervin Dauti, Venera Kastrati, Marco Fantini, Juliette Blightman, Margarita Bofiliou, Dionisis Christofilogiannis, Stelios Karamanolis, Eva Mitala, Tula Plumi, Yorgos Stamkopoulos, Claudia C. Linder, Astrid Rausch, Tina Ribarits, Frank Eickhoff, Gabriel Braun, Pius Fox, Marc Klee, BURGHARD, Tolia Astali and Dylan Pierce, Stella Geppert, Kathrin Köster, Sinta Werner, Nina Ploghöft, Silke Briel, Albert Allgaier, Bernhard Garnicnig, Peter Fritzenwallne, Albért Bernàrd, George P. Burdell, Walt Dusley, Noboru Watanabe,Anna Byskov, Juliana Borinski,Melanie Sweeny, Sifis Lykakis, Charlie Jeffery, Dan Robinson, Kostas Roussakis, Caroline Bird, Dan Coopey, Lo Hillarp-Sjöström, Thanassis Petropoulos, Polyxenie Savva, Iori Wallace, Ian Whitfield, Christoph Höschele, Sandra Schmidt, Andre Höschele, Falm, Kai Kaspar, Klaus Ambichl, Rye Brand, Rainer Prohaska, Maria Lianou, Panagiotis Samsarelos, Sofia Touboura, Pavlos Tsakonas,Eva Marathaki, Leontios Toumpouris, Christian Costa, Fabrizio Ajello, Maria Efstathiou, Eleni Fotiadou, Maria Georgoula, Margarita Myrogianni, Richard Bevan, Elisabeth S. Clark, Line Ellegaard, Kathryn Faulkner, Alexandra Hughes, Pernille Leggat Ramfelt, Aishan Yu, Panos Famelis, Maro Fasouli, Dimitris Foutris, Alexandros Laios, Milan Tittel, Matej Gavula, Viktor Oravec, Ivan Dudáš, Juraj Dudáš, Chrysanthi Koumianaki, Kosmas Nikolaou, Paki Vlassopoulou, Thanos Klonaris, Dimitris Baboulis.

Theorists: Nisaar Ulama, Caidleigh Murphy, Stephan Köhler, Katerina Nikou

Texts: Carolin Gennermann.

Host Venues

- Epaskt (The Association of Graduates of Athens School of Fine Art), Tholou & Panos 19A

- Open Show Studio, Ag.  Eleousis 14 & Protogenous  

- Six Dogs, Avramiotou 6-8 

- TEMPORARY SPACE ELAIONAS forthcoming SOUZY TROS, Markoni 8, Elaionas 

- SKOUZE3, Skouze 3 

- The Association of Greek Archaeologists, Ermou 136 

- Theater Embros, Riga Palamidou 2 

- 3 137 Mavromihali 137, Neapoli 

Venues open: Tuesday 22 May 18.00
23-29 May from 18.30 to 21.30 

Media Partners:

FlashArt SK/CZ, Art Act Magazine, Elculture, GrandMagazine, ArtAZ, LIFO, Create an Accident, SOUTH, ARTaujourdhui, Artplaces, Interartive, DailyLazyBlog, Connecting Cultures, Artnews, Visual Arts in Greece, Radiobubble

With the support of:

Austrian Embassy of Athens, Athenian Brewery, Dougos Winery, Athens - Attica Hotel Association, German Embassy of Athens, bm:uk, Andreas Melas & Helena Papadopoulos, Yes! Hotels Group, Electra Hotels, Athens Atrium Hotels, Novotel Hotels
     

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DL Projects:

dlprojects@hotmail.com

www.facebook.com/DlProjects

     

Crowd-Behaviours-Patterns (Cardiff, 17.03.2012)

La materializzazione di un dispositivo. I linguaggi estetici per geneare strumenti cognitivi basati sull'intuizione (vedi A.Zmijewski). L'inconscio e l'irrazionale per far percepire lo spazio pubblico in maniera inaspettata.

L'oggetto: uno specchio con le due scritte contrapposte “HAPPINESS” (Felicità) e “SAFETY” (Sicurezza) e due frecce.

L'azione: trasportare questo oggetto per le strade del centro di una città confrontandosi con le reazioni della gente.

Il contesto: il centro di Cardiff affollato da più di 100mila persone per la finale del 6 Nazioni di rugby e, contemporaneamente,  per la festa di S.Patrizio (17 marzo 2012).

The materialization of a dispositif. Aesthetic languages used to shape cognitive tools based on intuition (see A.Zmijewski). The unconscious and the irrational used to make people perceive public space in unexpected ways.

The object: a mirror with two opposing pieces of text: "HAPPINESS" and "SAFETY" accompanied by two directional arrows.
The action: To carry this object through the streets of a city centre confronting people's reactions.
The context: the centre of Cardiff crowded with more than 100 thousand people for the finale of the 6 Nations Rugby Tournament and, at the same time, for St. Patrick's Day (March 17, 2012).

La performance di Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces] a Cardiff è stata l'occasione per continuare a sperimentare l'uso di linguaggi e dispositivi non razionali per affrontare lo spazio pubblico, come già fatto, ad esempio, con la processione della Statua di S.Orsola a Firenze, da noi realizzata con l'aiuto degli abitanti del quartiere S.Lorenzo.

Il nostro fine era di affrontare il flusso compatto di persone presenti nel centro di Cardiff per costringerle a “scegliere” un lato o un altro dando, di conseguenza, più rilevanza all'idea di sicurezza o a quella di felicità.

Un’azione dal taglio relazionale volta a portare il pubblico, volente o nolente, ad esprimere il proprio approccio riguardo il proprio stile di vita e, contemporaneamente, rispetto ad un inaspettato intervento di arte pubblica.

The Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces] performance in Cardiff has been a chance to continue to explore the use of non-rational languages ​​and dispositifs to address the public space, as we already did, for example, with the procession of the Statue of Sant'Orsola (St.Ursula) in Florence, which we made with the help of the inhabitants of San Lorenzo quarter.

Our aim was to address the dense flow of people present in the centre of Cardiff and to force them to "choose" one side or another, giving, therefore, more relevance to the idea of safety or to the other one of happiness.
A relational action aimed at bringing the public, willingly or unwillingly, to express its approach regarding its own lifestyle and, simultaneously, regarding an unexpected intervention of public art.

Più che la scelta razionale di una delle due aree di senso ci interessava l’aspetto irrazionale e ineludibile del dispositivo messo in atto. Lo specchio, giocando con il “doppio” e l'immagine riflessa dell'osservatore, ci è servito per “accordare” la performance su di un livello non logico ma emozionale. Il cortocircuito tra riflesso e parole chiave ha portato la gran parte delle persone a reagire, come ci aspettavamo, in maniera NON razionale. La mancanza di tempo per razionalizzare l’incontro con il proprio “doppio” e la contemporanea richiesta di scelta tra due aree di senso così nettamente distanti ha creato sconcerto, angoscia, divertimento, gioco.

We were more interested in the irrationality and inevitability of the dispositif put in place than in the rational choice of one of the two areas of meaning. The mirror, playing with the idea of the "double" and the reflected image of the observer, helped us to "tune" the performance on an emotional level rather than a rational one. The interference between the mirror's reflection and the keywords led most of the people to react, as expected, in a NON rational way. This lack of time to rationalize the contact with your own "double" and the simultaneous request to choose between two very different areas of meaning provoked perplexity, angst, fun, playfulness.

Lo sconcerto per una situazione talmente inaspettata in un contesto non percepito come “confacente” ha finito con il rappresentare, come una cartina di tornasole, il rapporto della gente di Cardiff con lo spazio pubblico, con i linguaggi estetici, con l'arte pubblica, nonché la percezione di sé stessi e il grado di accettazione o rifiuto (assai intensi) di un confronto del genere. Per quanto molti si siano sforzati di apparire indifferenti, l'ineludibilità del dispositivo ha effettivamente provocato reazioni in chiunque ci sia entrato in contatto. La performance, così, è divenuta un catalizzatore di reazioni, tanto più interessanti quanto più dissimulate o inconsce.

The perplexity for a situation so unexpected in a context not perceived as "suitable" represented, as a litmus test, Cardiff people's relation with public space, with aesthetic languages​​, with public art. It also showed their perception of themselves and the degree of - very intense - acceptance or rejection of such a confrontation. As many tried to appear indifferent, the inevitability of the dispositif actually caused reactions in anyone who came into contact with it. The performance, thus, became a catalyst of reactions, the more interesting the more concealed or unconscious.

Alcune persone hanno palesemente tentato di ignorare questo attentato alla loro tranquillità. E altrettanto palesemente hanno finito per variare la loro traiettoria di cammino per scegliere, pur inconsapevolmente, una delle due aree di senso, ribadendo così l’ineludibilità di un dispositivo del genere.

Altri hanno mostrato angoscia o stupore, come se trovassero del tutto fuori luogo l'essere chiamati ad esplicitare preferenze così “intime” in uno spazio pubblico, considerato, evidentemente, come spazio della rappresentazione sociale più che della condivisione.

Altri ancora hanno intrattenuto con noi un gioco molto esplicito di autorappresentazione, piazzandosi davanti allo specchio e usandolo per aggiustarsi ostentatamente i capelli o gli abiti, ritenendo così di evitare o dominare un gioco che stavano, in effetti, subendo.

Non sono mancate, poi, le persone che hanno esibito il proprio processo di scelta o il proprio dubbio in proposito affermando, gridando o comunque manifestando esplicitamente la propria indecisione o il proprio favore per una delle due aree semantiche.

Some people clearly tried to ignore this attack on their tranquility. And just as clearly they ended up changing their walking trajectory to choose, though unconsciously, one of two areas of meaning, to confirm the inevitability of such a dispositif.

Others showed angst or astonishment, as if they find completely out of place being called to show so "intimate" preferences in a public space, regarded, apparently, as a place of social representation rather than a space for sharing.

Still others took the opportunity to engage in a very explicit game of self-representation: they stood in front of the mirror and use it to ostentatiously adjust their hairs or clothes, presuming in this way to dominate a game which they were, in fact, subjected to.
There were also people who clearly displayed their process of choice or their doubts about it stating, shouting or otherwise explicitly expressing their indecision or their favour for one of two semantic areas.

Molti hanno interpretato la performance come una azione di “testimonianza religiosa”, forse anche per l'ampiezza di significato dei termini adoperati e per il gesto di portare in pieno silenzio “in processione” un oggetto, azione questa che crea un seguito ma che, allo stesso tempo, divide la folla, apre “biblicamente” il popolo in due. In effetti questa performance, come per la Statua di S.Orsola a Firenze, ricontestualizza in ambito civico-sociale un medium di stampo religioso come quello della processione.

Ci siamo anche resi conto di come fosse molto “mediterranea” l'idea di portare in ostensione una immagine, e ancor di più una immagine autogenerantesi.

Many people interpreted the performance as an action of "religious testimony", due perhaps, to the breadth of meaning of the keywords and the gesture of bringing an object in full silence, "in procession", which is an action that attracts followers but, at the same time, divides the crowd, split "biblically" the people in two. As a matter of fact, this performance, as it was with the Statue of St. Ursula in Florence, managed to recontextualise a religious medium, such as the procession, in a civic and social direction.

We also realized how "Mediterranean" this idea of transporting a self-generating image around for contemplation is.

L'aver notato come questo dispositivo sia in grado di estrarre reazioni e informazioni sia da noi stessi, che dal pubblico che dalle persone dello staff preposte a documentare l'intervento (ci ha molto colpito cosa essi osservassero e come fotografassero/riprendessero l'azione) ci ha convinto a rendere questa performance uno dei format di Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces]. Replicheremo perciò questo intervento dovunque possibile e lo adopereremo come strumento per comprendere i nuovi contesti in cui ci ritroveremo ad agire.

Seeing how this dispositif is able to extract reactions and informations from ourselves, from the public and from the staff members responsible for documenting the intervention - we were very interessed in what they were observing and in how they were photographing/videorecording the action - has convinced us to turn this performance into one of the Spazi Docili [Docile Spaces] 'formats'. We will repeat this intervention wherever possible and we will use it as a tool to understand the new contexts in which we are going to work.

Foto di David Pepper e Brychan Tudor

Photographs by David Pepper and Brychan Tudor