'Contested Histories, Shared Futures' – Part 1 (28 June 2022)

Conference and Network Meeting of the European Alliance of Academies.
Part 1 – Tuesday, 28 June 2022 at Akademie van Kunsten KNAW Amsterdam (NL).

Welcome Words:
Liesbeth Bik, visual artist and Chair Akademie van Kunsten, Amsterdam
Jeanine Meerapfel, filmmaker and President Akademie der Künste, Berlin

Panel 1: "Contested Institutions: Making the Past Productive"
Over the past few years, cultural institutions have, partly under the influence of public opinion and partly out of own desire, started to critically assess their own histories. Sometimes this concerns a location or a building, but at other times this focuses on the collection or even the name of an institution. This panel discussion will explore ways from museum practice that try to make history productive.

Charles Esche, Director Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Wendelien van Oldenborgh, visual artist and member Akademie van Kunsten, Amsterdam
Paul Spies, Director Stadtmuseum Berlin and chief curator Federal State of Berlin at the Humboldt Forum
Moderation: Bruno Alves de Almeida, curator and architect

Panel 2: "Contested Monuments: How to Deal with Controversial Monuments in Public Space?"
Debates on a controversial past do not only take place around cultural institutions, monuments in public space can lead to lively debate as well. Sometimes this leads to a statue being taken down, sometimes a counter monument is put into place, and sometimes this leads to entirely new interventions. The five artists on this panel will present examples of how they in their practice deal with controversial monuments in public space.

Andreja Kulunčić, visual artist (Croatia)
Amina Menia, visual artist (Algeria)
RAAAF, experimental studio operating at the crossroads of visual art, architecture and academic philosophy (Netherlands)
Joanna Rajkowska, visual artist (Poland)
Fernando Sánchez Castillo, visual artist (Spain)
Moderation: Bruno Alves de Almeida, curator and architect

#allianceofacademies

An event by the European Alliance of Academies, organised by the Akademie der Künste and Akademie van Kunsten (KNAW). Funded by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb).