REALISE project
The Resilience of Art in Liquid Crises
[long running, 2014-2016]

About Realise

Over the past years Europe has met several deep crises. The financial and economic crisis is the most eagerly discussed among the recent crises and has led into a condition of deep uncertainty and feelings of extreme existential threats for many European citizens. Other crises as for instance a profound climate and environmental crisis, the demographic change in some European countries, the arising crisis of resources, the democratic crises as well as the crises of trust, paint a picture of a crisis-ridden future in many people’s minds. The manifest and looming as well as the predicted crises, their (re)presentation in the media and the governments’ and parties’ inconclusive reactions towards these urgent questions caused rejection of politics in general and a feeling of abandonment. 

Instead of burying one’s head in the sand, REALISE aims at identifying the potential and the self-efficacy of people in the face of crises as well as the proactive development of resilience by means of creativity and artistic production. Through the lens of crises and by encouraging people engaged in the artistic and cultural sector, insights as well as alternative models, know-how and future concepts are going to be developed. 

By cooperating in various activities such as transnational exhibitions and performances in Potsdam, Graz, Zagreb and Bratislava, artists in residence-programs, workshops and lectures in Thessaloniki, a common presentation of the REALISE project at 56. Biennale d’Arte in Venice as well as a festival in Seville, the capacity of the involved partners from Germany, Slovakian Republic, Greece, Croatia, Austria and Spain to work together is going to be supported. 

An interactive virtual exhibition platform will promote the results of the project to a wider European public. Creative Crisis Intelligence is going to support not only artistic professionals but also give important impulses to the development of European resilient societies in general.

The ATLANTIS-network connects seven European cities from Berlin to Yerevan through cultural exchange and cooperation, seven institutions working in the field of contemporary art. It fosters the cross-border cultural exchange as well as the examination of the own identity in addition to the identity of partner countries and their political and cultural heritage.

Germany, Slovakian Republic, Greece,
Croatia, Austria, Spain
2014-2016

Organization/Coordination:
Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Brandenburg (DE)

Partners:
ArtBOX.gr (GR)
Dom umenia / KUNSTHALLE Bratislava (SK)
next – Verein für zeitgenössische Kunst (AU)
ZEMOS98 (ES)
Croatian association of Artists (HDLU) (HR)

Kick-off meeting, Berlin, 21 November 2014

In The Heart of The Heart of Another City
Films by Syrian and Greek Filmakers
[workshop] [screenings]  


​In the heart of the heart of another country* is a collaborative project that presents and discusses the current situation in Syria, Greece and Lebanon, through a series of films, documentaries, talks and exhibitions presented in Thessaloniki, Athens and Beirut.
The project is presented in Thessaloniki in the context of REALISE - The Resilience of Art in Public Spaces, organised by Heinrich Boell Foundation Brandenburg in partnership with ArtBOX Creative Arts Management and four other organisations from around Europe with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the EU.
 
Also, in the framework of the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography’s Crossroads talks programme, where guests discuss the connection between image and a specific theme. The upcoming event addresses the relationship between image and the Syria crisis, and is the first parallel event in the context of the photo exhibition “Another Life: Human flows / Unknown Odysseys”. 

​

Thessaloniki Museum of Photography
15 June 2016

Organized by:
AIN (France-Syria-Lebanon), Mansion (Beirut) and TWIXTlab (Athens)

Organized in Thessaloniki by:
Goethe-Institut Thessaloniki, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the project Realise co-organised by ArtBOX

REALISE at the Old Municipal Slaughterhouse of Thessaloniki
The Impact of Art For Social Change Towards
Sustainable Growth for Cities
[conference] [workshops] [exhibition]  

The Conference looks into basic theory concepts, practices and examples of how an institution or city can collectively tackle crises via innovative cultural policies and art for social change projects. 

Program

12.00-12.10     Welcome, Elli Chrysidou, Vice-Mayor of Culture, Education and Sports, Municipality of Thessaloniki
12.10-12.30    Introduction to Realise, Christos Savvidis, ArtBOX
 
SESSION A’: THEORY
Moderator: Sotirios Bahtsetzis (art theorist, curator, ArtBOX)
 
12.30-12.50    Sotirios Bahtsetzis “Introduction to Art for Social Change”
12.50-13.10    Stephanie Bertrand (art theorist, curator, Fellow of the Onassis Foundation for the academic year 2015-16), “Use and Artifice”
13.10-13.25   Discussion
 
SESSION Β’: PRACTICES & EXAMPLES (part 1)
Moderator: Lydia Chatziiakovou (ArtBOX)
 
13.25-13.45   Giorgos Chatzinakos (PhD Candidate, Leeds University; Polis: Ma in European Urban Cultures), “Mapping the ‘neighborhood’: Problems, suggestions and approaches to urban futures. A methodological approach to the management of bottom-up community synergies and cultural initiatives.”
 
13.50-14.15    Break
 
SESSION Β’: PRACTICES & EXAMPLES (part 2)
14.15-14.30    Leonidas Trampoukis & Eleni Petaloti (architects, LoT Architects, New York / Thessaloniki), “Designing the design”
14.30-14.45     Manolis Chatzigiannis (economist, Technology Transfer Officer at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), “The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as the connecting link between the sectors of Culture and Creativity and the market”
 
SESSION C’: WORKSHOPS RESULTS PRESENTATION
 
14.45-15.00     Giorgos Drivas (artist, director), “Directing Reality – presentation of the workshop results”
 
15.00-15.15      Apostolos Rizos  (graphic designer) & Rania Emmanouilidou (artist) (les yper yper), “EPOC – presentation of the workshop results”
 
15.15-15.30    Discussion – Closing Remarks

The Two Workshops and The Exhibition

The Parallel Events

​Video Screening “Abattoir Gardens” by Stergios Karavatos
Duration 21’ (loop), 2012 (language: Greek)
Video-photographs, direction: Stergios Karavatos
Soundscapes: Vasilis Tzavaras
Texts: Ilias Petropoulos, Hercules Papaioannou, Stergios Karavatos
Narrator: Stelios Hristanis
The video was first presented as a live performance and it derived from a project commissioned by Hercules Papaioannou for the publication/exhibition “Beç Çinar”, from the series “A Stroll in the City”.

LIVE PERFORMANCE / SAVVAS  METAXAS & SPYROS EMMANOUILIDIS
15.30 - 16.15  Thessaloniki based Savvas Metaxas & Spyros Emmanouilidis present their new album Split Vinyl, a collaboration with Eventless Plot, released by Granny Records. 

Old Municipal Slaugherhouse, Thessaloniki, Greece
Conference: 19 Dec 2015
Workshops: 14, 17, 18 Dec 2015
Exhibition: 19-23 Dec 2015

Organization/Coordination:
ArtBOX in Collaboration with the LABattoir project (Municipality of Thessaloniki – Department of Culture & Tourism) and Heinrich Boell Foundation Brandenburg.

Assistant:
Katerina Vougiouka

Audiovisual: Giorgos Kosmidis - Diapason

Brochure design:
707 Designers

Speakers:
Sotirios Bahtsetzis, Stephanie Bertrand, Giorgos Chatzinakos, Leonidas Trampoukis, Manolis Chatzigiannis, Giorgos Drivas, Apostolos Rizos, Rania Emmanouilidou

Workshop instructors:
Directing Reality: Giorgos Drivas
EPOC: Apostolos Rizos, Rania Emmanouilidou

Introductions:
Elli Chrysidou, Christos Savvidis

Moderator:
Lydia Chatziiakovou

REALISE in Venice
Enter Views on Crisis
[exhibition] [events] [workshops] [discussions]

The first presentation of the REALISE project in Collegio Armeno Moorat Raphael on the occasion of the preview of the 56th Venice Biennale 2015 gives a short glimpse on how contemporary art reacts towards the manifold European and global phenomena of crisis. By carrying out a broad program comprising an exhibition, a live cinema performance, workshops and discussions – artists as well as passers-by are invited to gather and discuss about the ‘nature of the beast’ as well as collaboratively concoct vital pathways of resistance towards crisis. 

In this framework, ArtBOX presents the project EVOC - Enter Views on Crisis, via a short video, including a selection of the most interesting segments of the interviews carried out by the project so far. The video is conceptualised and produced by Andrea Iten, Martin Schaffner and Max Spielmann.

Realise Programme

EXHIBITION: 
OPENING: TUESDAY 6 MAY, 7.00 PM
DURATION: WEDNESDAY 7 - SUNDAY 10 MAY, 10.00 AM - 7.00 PM

WORKSHOPS:
WEDNESDAY | MAY 06
07:00 PM REALISE & RESIST // EXHIBITION OPENING
09:00 PM €UROVISIONS // LIVE CINEMA PERFORMANCE // OPEN AIR //
BY THE ARTISTIC COLLECTIVE “EUROPEAN SOUVENIRS”

THURSDAY | MAY 07
10:00 AM – 07:00 PM REALISE & RESIST // EXHIBITION
03:00 PM – 07:00 PM (RE)MIX: MIGRATION, MEDIA, REPRESENTATION & IMAGERIES //
WORKSHOP BY THE ARTISTIC COLLECTIVE “EUROPEAN SOUVENIRS“

FRIDAY | MAY 08
10:00 AM – 07:00 PM 03:00 PM – 04:30 PM

05:00 PM – 07:00 PM  
REALISE & RESIST // EXHIBITION FOR SALE: SELL-OUT – ALIENATION AND RESILIENCE OF
SOCIETIES // DISCUSSION // INTRODUCED BY LUISE KLOOS // WITH SILVIA MARIA GROSSMANN(AT), AURELIA MEINHART(AT) AND JULIAN PALACZ(AT)
ARTISTIC CRISIS ECONOMY: SUBCULTURAL, COOPERATIVE, ILLEGAL, CRIMINAL AND SUBVERSIVE NARRATIVES AND PRACTICES // DISCUSSION & WORKSHOP // INTRODUCED BY JOSIP ZANKI (HR) // WITH DAVIDE SKERLJ (IT), ALESSANDRA NICOLINI(IT), GIOVANNI MORBIN(IT)

Photos by Christian Jungeblodt (www.jungeblodt.com) (unless otherwise mentioned).

Collegio Armeno, Venice, Italy
6-10 May 2015

Organization/Coordination:
Heinrich-Böll-Foundation Brandenburg (DE)

Partners:
ArtBOX.gr (GR)
Dom umenia / KUNSTHALLE Bratislava (SK)
next – Verein für zeitgenössische Kunst (AU)
ZEMOS98 (ES)
Croatian association of Artists (HDLU) (HR)

Picture
Palazzo Zenobio, Collegio Armeno Moorat Raphael, Dorsoduro 2596, Fondamenta del Soccorso, 30123 Venezia, Italy
ArtBOX presents the project EVOC - Enter Views on Crisis, via a short video. The video is conceptualised and produced by Andrea Iten, Martin Schaffner and Max Spielmann.

CREATING EUROPE - über Kunst, Krise und Demokratie
[panel discussion]

Over the past years Europe has experienced several grave crises: the Euro Crisis, a climate and environmental crisis, crisis in the Ukraine, the crises of democracy and trust and the global refugee crisis.  Current socio-economic and environmental crises tend to define the near future. As they are unpredictable it becomes more and more important to develop new proactive concepts instead of burying one’s head in the sand. Especially the southern and southeastern regions of Europe are sincerely affected by different crises. What does this mean for democracy in those countries?  How can increasing populism and extremist political positions, often going hand in hand with social tensions, be prevented? How to empower societies to master crises by reverting to their own available resources? And what opportunities are there to experience and develop self-efficacy to strengthen democracy? How can arts and culture contribute to an advancement of an “European Resilient Society”? Is there something like Creative Crisis Intelligence?







Participants:
Juraj Čarný, Dom Umenia/KUNSTHALLE Bratislava, Slovakia
Lydia Chatziiakovou, ArtBOX.gr,  Greece
Mark Gisbourne, Rohkunstbau, Germany
Luise Kloos, NEXT – Verein für zeitgenössische Kunst, Austria
Susana Serrano, ZEMOS98, Spain
Josip Zanki, Croation association of Artists (HDLU), Croatia

Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte
Potsdam, Germany
20.11.2014

Organization:
Heinrich-Böll-Foundation

Speakers:
Juraj Čarný
Lydia Chatziiakovou
Mark Gisbourne
Luise Kloos
Susana Serrano

The debate is part of the nationwide project
“Gut vertreten – Update für Demokratie”
of all Heinrich-Böll-Foundations