CRITICAL STUDIO: How to move in arts and culture?

The MeetFactory is starting a new experimental and process-based residency project: „Critical Studio" that is realized in close cooperation with ZK/U – Center for Arts and Urbanistics based in Berlin. Together we aim to advance critical reflection and exchange about residency structures, about their followers, companions and publics. With all involved artists and actors, special local guests and the public we want to highlight the scenes behind the regular studio practices.  

Since long ago the studio has not been understood only as a clearly marked sanctuary, the scope of the professional working environment has been extended, became dynamic, mobile and went outside its traditional frames into the society. Artists and creatives define themselves more and more as field researchers questioning their changing surroundings and sites of action.  

This means also a re-invention of the notions of the studio space that also followed-up the increase of residency and mobility programs with new studio structures that allow a temporary condensing of space and work. Mobility also means that identities are always in transition. Belongings are not related to just one cultural reference. Moreover they undergo dynamic and transcultural samplings, cross-linkings and networkings that create the so-called third space in-between that is no longer related to specific places. Borders and boundaries became hybrid and dissolved allowing more freedom and independence.  

Many artists and creatives deal in various ways with those phenomena and potentials of mobility, transculturality and identity building that we also focus on in our platform. Within the “Critical Studio” we take the challenge of our own (temporary) role in artistic residency programs and try to get to the bottom of the question: How to move in arts and culture?  

The results will be presented in the form of screenings, discussions, presentations, performances, interdisciplinary and experimantal projects through the Open Studios and Public house events.  

Participating artists

Jomar Statkun a Nadja Frank, team THIS RED DOOR (USA, New York City)
http://www.thisreddoor.com/
Naomi Fitzsimmons (Great Britain, London)
http://www.naomifitzsimmons.com/
Jens Heitjohann (Germany, Berlin)
http://jensheitjohann.de/
Katarina Zjdelar (Serbia/Netherlands, Rotterdam)
http://katarinazdjelar.net/
Rafael Vogel (Germany)
https://soundcloud.com/leafarlegov