American philosopher Michael Hardt and Italian thinker Antonio Negri in their book “Empire” decided to do thorough research on postmodern capitalism, aptly noting that contemporary reality is in dep crisis of the value rights. Negri formulated the theoretical project of the common good, or rather “of what is common”, derived directly from the sphere of production, defined nowadays as biopolitical work. What is it? According to the authors of “Empire”, “it’s the work effects of which are affects, social relations, knowledge, images, information, codes, forms of life and subjectivity, which becomes increasingly autonomous to capitalist control”.
Already 6th edition of the Art Festival ART.eria, taking place in the public space of Czestochowa, will become the field of artistic, as well as biopolitical, explorations examining urban areas of what is common and above all social, treating them, according to Hardt’s and Negri’s theory as “an inexhaustible source of creativity and innovation”.
Invited artists: Agata Zbylut, Agata Lankamer, Aleka Polis, Alicja Rogalska, Bogna Burska, Emilia Dudziec, Krzysztof Maniak, Maciek Chodziński, Szymon Motyl, FRiKO Group, will engage residents to actively participate in building the platform for mutual communication, which fosters the integration, engaged conversation and exchange of experience. Diverse and interdisciplinary projects will activate citizens to undertake actions in urban space, to familiarize them and give them new meanings.
FRIKO Group will invite the audience for a five-day picnic in the heart of Czestochowa, i.e. at the III Avenue, on a daily basis mainly used as a strategic crossing point not requiring any active involvement. Preparing meals together and grilling in the city center will become primarily the pretext for meetings, restoring truly public character of this part of Czestochowa. Krzysztof Maniak will build a special installation fitting in the activities of the land-art artists. He will create a small white cube, referring directly to the work of conceptual artist Sol Le Witt. It will be buried under soil and grass seed. His work will slowly undergo the processes of growth, constant change and will be exposed to nature which human will never be able to take absolute control over. Agata Zbylut will prepare a project with symptomatic title “The Fireflies”, consisting of mobile phones with green screens displaying slogans from demonstration banners. The fireflies became for the artist an exemplification of mystery and overwhelming beauty – they tempt and charm the eyes, shimmering with their green bodies on the background of dark sky. However, in the context of Zbylut’s actions these remarkable insects represent also a different meaning – they become a symbol of relativism, blurring the boundaries between good and bad. Her installation directly undermines the infallibility of reason, its analyses and insights, which might induce the audience to review their own views.
This year’s ART.eria will also provide a good dose of music performed by Nagrobki and PMS bands, as well as opportunities to vivid intellectual discussions, because the festival in a public space is a living, active work on urban tissue to serve individual and common good, and, above all, to help develop the capacity for independent, critical thinking about the surrounding reality.
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6th ART.eria Festival
September 7-11, 2016
Częstochowa – Warsaw
http://arteria.kulturoholizm.p