Composting Knowledge – Networking in Turbulent Times

28 April 2023

A conversation at Documenta in Kassel

Participants: Iswanto Hartono and Reza Afisina,  members of Indonesian artist collective ruangrupa, Giulia Rossini, artist, researcher and curator, Joachim Granit, artist, curator and former artistic leader of Färgfabriken

Collaborative creative processes are increasingly important in today’s complex and uncertain world. They involve working together with diverse partners to generate valuable solutions for artistic, social, or practical challenges. We invite you to join a conversation that will delve into how collaborative creative processes can help us navigate turbulent times and foster new cultural ecosystems.

This gathering is a continuation of Färgfabriken’s participation in the network Composting Knowledge, an experimental network for knowledge production initiated by artist collective and curators ruangrupa for  Documenta15 in Kassel 2022.

Participants

Iswanto Hartono and Reza Afisina are members of Indonesian artist collective ruangrupa, which includes a variety of people and experiences such as journalist, ecologist, academics, architects and artists. ruangrupa was appointed as curator of the world art exhibition Documenta in Kassel, Germany in 2022. The collective believes in the notion of collectivity as a means to break away from the modernist idea of the artist as a centralistic entity. Instead of collaborating to make art, ruangrupa propagates the art of collaboration. It’s a collective that teaches collectivity. For its projects, ruangrupa solicits accomplices: artists, of course, but also those otherwise stranded on the art world’s margins, like slum residents or factory workers. The collaboration between ruangrupa and Färgfabriken started in 2012 and has since taken various forms.

Giulia Rossini is an artist, researcher, and curator currently based in Zürich. With experience working in production and curatorial roles within various cultural institutions, she is dedicated to promoting cultural change through her artistic and research practices. She achieves this goal by fostering interdisciplinary projects that bring together diverse personalities, institutions, and knowledge bases, creating fertile collaborative terrains for territorial, historical, political, or creative discourses. She was curator and caretaker of the collaboration process for the Composting Knowledge Network.

Joachim Granit is an artist and curator. He was the artistic director of Färgfabriken from 2008–2022, and a member of the Composting Knowledge Network.

In this conversation will explore and probe questions such as:

  • Networking as an artistic method: How can we use social interactions and communication to enhance creative potential and expand artistic horizons?
  • Art as a support system and support systems for art: How can we create and sustain supportive environments that nurture artistic expression and collaboration? Where we need to adapt to the consequences of climate change and the challenges posed by uncertainty and conflict in the world.

Experiences from collaborative artistic and/or curatorial methods: How can we develop and share effective experiences and practices that foster collaborative creativity in society, and the changing artistic field?

Composting Knowledge workshop at Documenta15.

News post from Färgfabriken’s activities at Documenta15.

Ruangrupa’s residency at Färgfabriken in 2013.

With support from

Kulturrådet och Iaspis.