SYNAPSE – The International Curators’ Network

Deadline:November 5, 2012

Workshop: April 23-27, 2013, with a public keynote by Jill Bennett (Professor of experimental arts, writer and curator; author, Practical Aesthetics (2012)) on April 23, 2013

Haus der Kulturen der Welt invites up-and-coming curators to apply for the second edition of SYNAPSE – The International Curators’ Network. The network is moderated by a team of international curators, artists, scientists and other experts including Prof. Dr. Horst Bredekamp (Professor of History of Art at Humboldt University Berlin), Bergit Arends(Curator of Contemporary Art, Natural History Museum London), Chus Martínez (Head of Department and Member of Core Agent Group, dOCUMENTA 13) and Dr. Barbara Steiner(Curator, Leipzig), Rich Pell (Curator, The Center for PostNatural History) and Christian de Lutz & Regine Rapp (Art Laboratory Berlin). The network’s second workshop focuses on modes of interaction between science and art, with a special thematic focus on the Anthropocene. Among other questions, it will address how scientific topics and methodologies can be approached by curators.

SYNAPSE Workshop 2013

The curators’ workshop 2013 (April, 23-27, 2013) takes place in the context of Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s special focus on “The Anthropocene Project.” The core message behind the Anthropocene theory is that nature, as we know it, is a concept that belongs to the past; today, humanity forms nature. The Anthropocene theory announces a paradigm shift whose far-reaching significance might be comparable toDarwin’s theory of evolution. With the long-term project “The Anthropocene Project”, Haus der Kulturen der Welt is the first to explore the epoch of humanity from the point of view of culture.

The SYNAPSE Workshop 2013 will address the key implications of the Anthropocene, regarding humanity’s tasks and goals in a world formed by humanity while paying special attention to the role of curators and artists. The Anthropocene, a term that has emerged in geological discourse, applies not just to aspects of our existence like the everyday life, consumer behavior, and (self-)perception, but also has significant ramifications for art and for the scientific disciplines. Key topics the workshop will address are: the historic liaison of art & science; curating in a museum for natural history; genetics & transgenic processes; design.

Visits to galleries, museums, and project spaces – like the Ethnological Museum, the Natural History Museum, Künstlerhaus Bethanien and Museum of Medical History– will connect SYNAPSE participants with the vibrant Berlin art scene.

Organization

Haus der Kulturen der Welt, located in the former Congress Hall in Berlin’s central Tiergarten, is a cosmopolitan place for contemporary arts and a forum for current developments and discourse. It presents artistic productions from around the world, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societies. Visual arts, music, literature, performing arts, film, academic discussions and digital media are all linked in an interdisciplinary program that is unique in Europe. With the long-term project “The Anthropocene Project,” Haus der Kulturen der Welt is exploring for the first time the Age of Man from the point of view of culture.

Partners

Ernst Schering Foundation  aims to promote science and art, with a special focus on the natural sciences and the contemporary visual and performing arts. In addition, the Foundation promotes the scientific and cultural education of children and youth and the dialogue between science and society. Particular emphasis is on projects in frontier areas, especially at the interface of art and science.

Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities is a learned society with a three-hundred-year-old tradition of uniting outstanding scholars and scientists across national and disciplinary boundaries. 78 Nobel prizewinners have shaped its history.

Facts

An international jury will review the applications and determine the ten selected participants by the beginning of December 2012. Participation in all workshop activities is compulsory and free of charge. Haus der Kulturen der Welt will cover travel and accommodation as well as food during workshop hours.

Jury members

• Anselm Franke (Curator and designated Head of Visual Arts Department,  Haus der Kulturen der Welt,Berlin)
• Heike Catherina Mertens (Director of Arts and Culture, Ernst Schering Foundation,Berlin)
• Dr. Suely Rolnik (Psychoanalyst, art and cultural critic, curator and Professor at the Catholic University of São Paulo and at the Independent Studies Program, MACBA)
• Dr. Adele Tan (Writer and curator,Singapore)
• Dr. Julia Voss (Art historian and journalist, F.A.Z., Berlin/Frankfurt)

Application requirements:

The call is open to international up-and-coming curators with initial curatorial experience. Since lectures and workshop sessions will be held in English, applicants must be able to speak and write English fluently.

Deadline for entries: November 5, 2012

Please submit your application online. To apply, please register here.

– After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail

– You will be asked to provide information about yourself, a curriculum vitae and a portfolio of previously realized curatorial projects OR a paper on a theoretical subject related to the thematic frame work of SYNAPSE 2013.

Contact

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at synapse@hkw.de

Website: http://www.synapse.info/open-call/