iLiana Fokianaki’s talk “The language of the institution as a politically conscious curatorial gesture” will address ways of instituting that can embody curatorial research through ways of programming that use language as a tool of embodiment. She will take as a point of departure the institution State of Concept, which she has founded in 2013. State of Concept examines the institutional model of a non-profit organisation and performs “the state as such” through exhibition chapters that directly link state theory to the art institution and artistic practices. It promotes Greek and international artists through solo exhibitions, and also invites international curators to create exhibitions that comment on the current sociopolitical landscape of Greece, Europe and beyond.
Bio
iLiana Fokianaki is a writer and curator based in Athens and Rotterdam. Her research focuses on the notion of the state and the formations of power that manifest under the influence of geopolitics, national identity and cultural and anthropological histories. In 2013 she founded State of Concept Athens, the first non-profit institution with a permanent program and location in Athens. In 2016, together with Antonia Alampi, she founded Future Climates, a platform that aims to propose viable futures for small-scale organizations of contemporary art and culture. She is curator and programmer of Extra City Kunsthal Antwerp (2017-2019). Fokianaki holds an MA in Art Criticism from City University London. Her PhD research with Athena Athanasiou at Panteion University Athens focuses on economy, identity, and politics.
IMAGE credit: “Exhibition view of “Through the Fog”, curated by Nick Aikens, February 2016
Lecture of iLiana Fokianaki takes place as the closing event of the project The Season of Learning and its event program “Language: From Practice to Action”.
More information: http://seasonoflearning.lv/
