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During the late ‘60s and beginning of ‘70s Biljana Tomic organised a series of international programs within Belgrade Theatre Festival – BITEF, presenting some of then emerging and avant-garde movements and its protagonists. Therefore were present or exhibited artists from Arte Povera movement, such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, Alighiero Boetti, Gino De Dominicis, Mario Merz, Emilio Prini, Giulio Paolini, invited by critics Germano Celant and Achille Bonito Oliva. Also were present and exhibited some of protagonists of currents like Happening and Fluxus, minimal and land art, conceptual and body art: Carl Andre, Ben, John Baldessari, Robert Barry, Daniel Buren, Christo, Giuseppe Chiari, Hanne Darboven, Jan Dibbets, van Elk, Luciano Fabro, Barry Flanagan, Douglas Hubler, Joseph Kosuth, Richard Long, John Latham, Sol LeWitt, Laurence Weiner, as well as Video Gallery of Garry Schum and many others.
As the Students Cultural Centre was opened, from 1972 Biljana Tomic and group of collaborators started “April Meetings” continuing the same multimedia festival/event conception based on idea of “expanded media” (as a paraphrase of than cult book “Expanded Cinema” by Gene Youngblood). So within “April Meetings” parallelly with artists that were presented before, such as group OHO from Slovenia, Braco Dimitrijevic, Goran Trbuljak, Dalibor Martinis, Sanja Ivekovic from Zagreb, “group of six” from Belgrade among which exhibited initially Marina Abramovic, were shown also international artists: “Art and Language” and other conceptualists presented by Catherine Millet, Gina Pane with one of first performances, Joseph Beuys, Luigi Ontani, Francesco Clemente, and many others… Within this framework, with Joseph Beuys in ‘74 started collaboration with Dusseldorf Academy, and in next years other artists, such as Katarina Sieverding and Klaus Rinke were in Belgrade too, making performances and presentations. During the following period Gallery of SCC conceived its activity also as the laboratory that involved emerging generations of artists that were mostly students of artists that exhibited before. This praxis continued through the ‘80s but also through the ‘90s in spite of war and cultural embargo.
“Real Presence – Generation 2001” realised in Belgrade in the summer 2001 was the first huge young artists and students workshop after democratic changes in Yugoslavia. Conceptually it was based on this cultural and historical background and in a long tradition of open multimedia programs conceived as meeting points and places for free communication, collaboration and friendship. On the beginning of ‘90s, war and dissolution of Yugoslavia changed radically art scene and its ways of functioning, provoking closeness, isolation and impossibility to maintain frequent cultural exchange and activity. Even after the suspension of cultural embargo the “virtual enclosure” became a part of scene, its rule, felling, a certain state of mind... After ten years we felt an urge to underline a need for “real presence” of new and fresh creative artistic spirit. That’s why we decided to invite emerging generations of artists from different countries and cultural backgrounds, to come in Belgrade in wider possible number, to stay and work together... and represent in a symbolical way a first step for bridging the gap created during the decade of '90s. |
1° edition of the Real Presence workshop involved about 300 young artists and art students from academies from eastern and western Europe – classes of artists such as Marina Abramovic, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Jannis Kounellis, Luciano Fabro, Heimo Zobernig, Peter Kogler, Klaus Rinke, Thomas Bayerle and many others. It was inaugurated with the conference of Harald Szeemann. The final outcome of the workshop were more than 90 different programs realised in two weeks of the duration. |
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2° edition of Real Presence followed another similar encounter organised in Frankfurt by Staatliche Hochschule Fur Bildende Kunste entitled “Gasthof”. It involved about 100 participants, students of the professors like: Edi Muka, Sarat Maharaj, Heimo Zobernig, Jannis Kounellis as well as art institutions like Moderna Museet (Stockholm), Living Art Museum (Reikyevik) and Lasalle-Sia College of the Arts (Singapore). During the workshop have been realised about 40 different events, presentations, performances and on site installations. |
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3° edition of the workshop was based on the idea of development of the “horisontal” network – it evolved from the contacts established through previous two editions. It gathered about 150 art students from classes of: Eva Schlegel, Peter Weibel, Katharina Sieverding, Daniel Buren, Tobias Rehberger, Asta Goting and many others. During the workshop have been realised about 60 different events, presentations, performances and on site installations. |
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4° edition of Real Presence established collaborations from the previous years and extended the radius of collaborations towards contexts like South Africa, after involving Singapore, Iceland and many east European countries. In the project took part about 100 young artists coming from the classes of Marina Abramovic, Rirktit Tiravanija, Brigite Kowanz, Monika Bonavicini, Johan Thom and many others. |
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With 5° edition Real Presence expanded it’s radius of action, and as a parallel event within 51° Venice Biennial it took place in Venice (in collaboration with IUAV) and in Belgrade. As partner academies were involved Faculty of Arts and Design – IUAV, Venice, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna and Academy of Fine Arts, Ljubljana. Workshop was attended by 250 participants from classes of 28 academies from 17 countries of Europe, Africa and Asia.
6° edition of the workshop Real Presence was held in Belgrade and involved about 100 young artists from 20 different countries and from classes of professors like: Brigitte Kowanz, Marina Grzinic, Erwin Wurm, Peter Weibel, Elke Krystufek, Simon Starling, Willem de Rooij, Alberto Garutti, Jorge Orta, Carlos Basualdo and many others. Outcome of the workshop were numerous events, exhibitions, collaborative projects inside the museum and in different public locations of the city.
7° edition of the workshop Real Presence was held in Belgrade and in Istanbul as paralel program within 10° Istanbul Biennial, and it involved about 170 young artists from 20 different countries and from classes of professors like: Marina Grzinic, Heimo Zobernig, Victoria Vesna, Alberto Garutti and many others. |
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ACTIVITY |
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Permanent workshop consists of · Presentations of participating artists planned to take place as follows: every day different presentation of already existing works (computer and video projections, performances, installations, web presentations) · Realization of the installations and projects on site · Performances and actions · Interactive media communication · Video and photo production · City interventions · Lectures and panel discussions · Visitis to the art spaces and cultural institutions in Belgrade · Encounters with curators and cultural operators active in Serbia and Montenegro · Realization of the work for the final exhibition lasting one day · Exhibition in various exhibitive and public spaces, galleries and museums of the city · The project should be followed by a documentary printed materials illustrating artistic works realized during the workshop. |
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