Ljubljana
MGML
When gesture becomes event
When gesture becomes event, Künstlerhaus Wien, 2020 © Pascal Petignat

City Art Gallery Ljubljana

Mestni trg 5
1000 Ljubljana


General information:
T +386 1 24 11 785
E mestna.galerija@mgml.si

School programs:
T +386 1 24 12 506
E prijava@mgml.si

Public relations:
T +386 41 669 599
E mateja.dimnik@mgml.si


Tuesday–Sunday: 11:00–19:00
Monday: Closed
1 January, 1 November, 25 December: Closed
24 and 31 December: 11:00–14:00

Free entry.



City Art Gallery Ljubljana is a dog-friendly gallery.

skupinska razstava

When gesture becomes event

group exhibition

30. 4. 2021–20. 6. 2021

Artists presented at the exhibition: Anna Artaker, Nika Autor, Renate Bertlmann, Katharina Cibulka, Lana Čmajčanin, Magdalena Frey, Anna Jermolaewa, Roberta Lima, Polonca Lovšin, Dorit Margreiter, Ursula Mayer, Marjetica Potrč, Constanze Ruhm, Maruša Sagadin, Maja Smrekar, The Golden Pixel Cooperative.

The group show When Gesture Becomes Event was developed in close dialogue with the artists, with whom we reflected on the basic considerations of solidarity as social support between humans, other living beings and the environment. Following the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease pandemic, at the time of the exhibition’s conception, we also intensified our reflection on solidarity between artists, curators, other cultural workers and cultural institutions. The leitmotif underpinning “When Gesture Becomes Event” focuses on the emancipatory potential of art as a platform for the practice of solidarity, along with the accompanying gestures, possibilities and imponderabilities associated with it.

Sixteen polyphonic, critical, constructive and imaginative voices draw up a feminist vocabulary spanning across strategies, forms of action and utopian endeavours to help rethink collective action, co-operation, solidarity and shared existences.

Following the work of Diane Elam, the group show aims to develop a new grammar for a “groundless solidarity” that embraces variety and diversity. What could this new grammar be based on? What could this nascent concept of “groundless solidarity” look like in a fully developed form? The concepts of the sociologist Heinz Bude offer valuable inspiration, which are implicitly reflected in the exhibition. Bude proceeds from the premise that, today, solidarity can no longer be achieved through class struggle or division of labour, but only through an individual’s realisation of his or her own vulnerability.

Of course, vulnerability is not limited to human beings only. As a strength or as a weakness, it extends across the entire planet, manifesting in various ways across diverse lifeforms. Thus, Bude sees “groundless solidarity” as a venture we must embark on both at a personal and a global level. Without questioning the reliability of such a course, it can show us the way towards new forms of community that are marked by mutual care and support.

The artists in the show face this venture, questioning whether, and under what conditions, an individual gesture can interrupt a seemingly natural course of actions and subsequently turn into an event as well as a force that connects people.   


The exhibition was premiered at the Künstlerhaus Vereinigung in Vienna, in the context of the Austrian-Slovenian Year of the Neighborhood Dialogue 2019/2020.

As part of the exhibition, Katharina Cibulka’s installation entitled SOLANGE will be on view at the Cukrarna Palace.

For the duration of the exhibition, Elisabeth von Samsonow will stage her performance THE GODDESS LOOKING AT HER PLEČNIK TEMPLES IN LJUBLJANA on the streets of Ljubljana. Date and time to be announced.

Constanze Ruhm’s exhibition entitled La strada (è ancora) più lunga at the Tobačna Gallery is also part of the exhibition.




When gesture becomes event

Sixteen polyphonic, critical, constructive and imaginative voices drew up a feminist vocabulary spanning across strategies, forms of action and utopian endeavours to help rethink collective action, co-operation, solidarity and shared ...

Colophon

Production: City Art Gallery Ljubljana / Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana & Künstlerhaus WienExhibition curators: Alenka Gregorič & Felicitas Thun-HohensteinArtists: Anna Artaker, Nika Autor, Renate Bertlmann, Katharina Cibulka, Lana Čmajčanin, Magdalena Frey, Anna Jermolaewa, Roberta Lima, Polonca Lovšin, Dorit Margreiter, Ursula Mayer, Marjetica Potrč, Constanze Ruhm, Maruša Sagadin, Maja Smrekar, The Golden Pixel CooperativeTexts: Alenka Gregorič & Felicitas Thun-HohensteinExhibition design: Ajdin BašićThe exhibition was made possible by: Ministry of culture of the Republic of Slovenia, Slowenisches Kulturinformationszentrum SKICA, City of Ljubljana, Department for Culture, City of Vienna, Austrian cultural forum Ljubljana, Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport, Ministry for European and International Affairs Austria

City Art Gallery Ljubljana

Mestni trg 5
1000 Ljubljana


General information:
T +386 1 24 11 785
E mestna.galerija@mgml.si

School programs:
T +386 1 24 12 506
E prijava@mgml.si

Public relations:
T +386 41 669 599
E mateja.dimnik@mgml.si


Tuesday–Sunday: 11:00–19:00
Monday: Closed
1 January, 1 November, 25 December: Closed
24 and 31 December: 11:00–14:00

Free entry.



City Art Gallery Ljubljana is a dog-friendly gallery.

Events

Performance "The Goddess Looking at Her Plečnik Temples in Ljubljana"
Fri
18
Jun 2021
Performance
5:45 p.m.
City Art Gallery Ljubljana
Performance "The Goddess Looking at Her Plečnik Temples in Ljubljana"
Elisabeth von Samsonow’a performance draws upon a characteristic of Jože Plečnik’s architecture: the fitting of structures in the form of a little version within a larger one. She deciphers these strong architectural details as iconic information relating them to Plečnik’s belief in the return of matriarchy, which he wanted to pioneer as an architect.
MALA SIRENA choir
Fri
18
Jun 2021
Performance
7:30 p.m.
City Art Gallery Ljubljana
MALA SIRENA choir
MALA SIRENA defines itself as a queer-feminist conceptual choir, which is (mainly) related to pop music. MALA SIRENA is referential. MALA SIRENA is both practice and theory. MALA SIRENA focuses on interruptions and omissions, on empty places as spaces of possibility and resonance out of which new voices may emerge.
Last guided tour of the "When gesture becomes event" exhibition
Wed
16
Jun 2021
Guided tour
5 p.m.
City Art Gallery Ljubljana
Last guided tour of the "When gesture becomes event" exhibition
Sixteen polyphonic, critical, constructive and imaginative voices draw up a feminist vocabulary spanning across strategies, forms of action and utopian endeavours to help rethink collective action, co-operation, solidarity and shared existences.
Guided tour of the "When gesture becomes event" exhibition
Wed
9
Jun 2021
Guided tour
5 p.m.
City Art Gallery Ljubljana
Guided tour of the "When gesture becomes event" exhibition
Sixteen polyphonic, critical, constructive and imaginative voices draw up a feminist vocabulary spanning across strategies, forms of action and utopian endeavours to help rethink collective action, co-operation, solidarity and shared existences.

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