Citizens and Subjects: Practices and Debates 

Citizens and Subjects: Practices and Debates is developed as an extension of the Dutch Pavilion that reaches out in a number of directions: by means of expanding from Venice ‘back’ to the Netherlands; in terms of carrying the engagement with urgent issues of our time beyond the Biennale momentum; towards the fields of philosophy, history, social science, as well as towards the academic environment; and to other (art) institutions through empowering collaborations.

Citizens and Subjects: Practices and Debates consists of a series of lectures and seminars developed by BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in collaboration with Utrecht University and its Studium Generale. The idea of extending the Dutch Pavilion came out of the urgency to create an additional space for artists, curators, scholars and the general public to debate various ‘practices’ and ‘debates’ that engage with the critical challenges of our times – such as abiding anxiety stemming from various threats, real or imagined and the question of ‘citizenship’– and to invest ourselves in contributing to a new imaginary about the world through contemporary art.

Given its philosophy of ‘reaching out’ and seeking collaborations based in shared concerns and engagement with the current artistic, cultural, social and political conditions in the Netherlands and beyond, Citizens and Subjects: Practices and Debates connects with two art institutions and their projects in the Netherlands: National (Re)presentation at Witte de With in Rotterdam, a series of four gatherings developed in connection with the German Pavilion, 52nd Venice Biennale and Be[com]ing Dutch – Eindhoven Caucus, part of the two-year project Be[com]ing Dutch at Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, which received the Development Award for Cultural Diversity 2006 from the Mondriaan Foundation.

The programme extends throughout October–December 2007. A full overview of the calendar is provided on this website under 'program' and at www.bak-utrecht.nl; detailed information on the individual parts and specific lectures is available from each participating institution.

In addition, a master course at Utrecht University, Experimental Curating in the Age of Mobility, is also conceived as a pilot project. It takes place through a collaboration between BAK, basis voor actuele kunst and Utrecht University.

Detailed information on the course is available on the website www.bak-utrecht.nl.