Exhibition

	Stéphane Bauer
	Zorka Lednarova
	Caroline Lund
	Doreen Mende
	Shaheen Merali
	Christoph Tannert

Panel
Images

head of exhibition, film and new media, House of World Cultures

http://www.hkw.de

Co-founder of Panchayat Library and Archiv in London, which is since 1997 in Harrow Learning Resources Centre (LRC) of the University of Westminster

Originally established in 1988 as a response to the need for the representation of Southern world and first nation artists, it has since expanded to accommodate a widened International perspective.
Panchayat now represents and promotes contemporary artists producing issue based work, with a particular focus on cultural identity. Members have taken on an interactive role in the arts, both organising and facilitating artistic events such as exhibitions, performances, residencies and conferences, consultancy and curatorial practice.

(from: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/harlib/panchayat.htm 30.01.2006 )

more images

To strike a balance within the frenzy that is the contemporary art world is both challenging and an endeavor worth pursuing. In my time in the arts, I have attended many types of events that are constructed around the muses - from academic rights of passage to populist street events. But the current climate and cultural politics is definitely something that defies past experiences. It can be describes as a gigantic art fair - but this would be a rather primitive explanation of its paradigms. At the core of visual culture is something which can only be described as a highly ambitious location within which art tries to mediate all sorts of activities and ambitions. Albeit many of these activities remain organized around the model of the market - with suitable white cubes and dealers estranged by the plethora of public visitors who remain constantly as outsiders.

, it seems, is heavily engaged in trying to produce meaning and periphery to the pre-described art fair mentality by producing a series of events and interventions worth elaborating upon. The current project Outliners, is an intelligent gathering of curators to help reformulate and construct a forums strongly focused on domestic debates within an international concern about the role of the archive, the archivist and the space for documentation. This internationalistic tendency acts as a centrifugal space for diaspora visual engagement as well as addressing issues of mobility and visibility- major issues within current theoretical debates about visual culture and contingency.

Moreover, , is a noticeable invention within frugal economic times which allows empowerment as a key role in presence and absence on the international cultural stage. The 'curated' project is a welcome respite from the repetitive artworks found within many conventional sections of the art world, as is the dialogue orientated section dedicated to unearthing the complex renderings and applications of archival processes and projects. Such stimulating and worthy organization of continuing engagement within themes constructed around visibility have to be supported as they provide important vehicles or set of rules by which to evaluate the visual data presented in the field of contemporary statements.

It is great to be cool but it is better to be informative to the many who are seeking some kind of inspiration from within the visual arts.

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