On 20 July 2023 at 18:00, Kogo Gallery in Tartu, Estonia, will open its doors with Unveiling Structures, a new exhibition showcasing both collaborative and individual works by young artists and art workers as a part of the De Structura project. The gallery will transform into a space for exploring and questioning the existing systems and models that govern the art sector, introducing the efforts of young professionals to build a more transparent, equal and collaborative working environment. The exhibition invites visitors to a space in which art and policy-making co-exist; a space where one may choose to wander through augmented reality looking at the artworks or become engaged in the exchanges between the many young artists, researchers and curators who have contributed to the project over the course of the past two years.
Isadora Alves, Salphinah Savin, Catherin Schöberl, Emilymary Whitaker. Screens Scream Sex – Lecture Performance, 2023. Photo by Marc Doradzillo
Launched in 2021, De Structura provides peer-to-peer and expert support for young professionals at this early stage of their careers. Through research, discourse and creative work, it aims to uncover and rethink the dominant paradigms and structures of the European art world. “The sector struggles to materialise its own critique of society and too often disregards the innovative approaches suggested by newcomers. In its quest for openness at large, the art and culture sector has become isolated, closed and protective within”, stresses De Structura founder Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova.
In July 2022, during the De Structura Forum, young artists and art workers from 25 countries gathered in Estonia to address the challenges they face in navigating the existing structures and to propose potential solutions. “The legal frameworks, the opaque hiring and artist selection practices, and the unequal distribution of institutional funding are a few of the many invisible structures installed in and next to the works of art. These spaces of the imagination have an attractive quality, but they also contribute to the ambiguity and the stereotypes around what it means to be an artist” – excerpt from curatorial text.
For the first time, an exhibition will publicly display proposals to the broader public, inviting visitors to join the conversations that took place during the Forum and afterwards.
With the support of ArtLink, a group from Romania that is facilitating art through Augmented Reality (AR) technology, Unveiling Structures will also exhibit a variety of artworks by De Structura participants. Visitors will be able to read an AI-generated newspaper by Wen Chen, delving into the ambiguity surrounding the political status of Taiwan in East Asia and beyond, as well as explore the possibilities of artificial intelligence, consciousness, and the human-machine relationship in a performance with Ania Duldiier. The skin as an archive, sexuality in the digital age, and new models of social interaction are some of the themes explored by artists Miriam Poletti, Catherin Schöberl and Justyna Grażyna Tuchorska. Can moss transform into a blanket or embroidery? Our relationship with the natural world in the age of environmental crises is central to the works of Eline Anna Gaudé, Emily Jean Doyle and Sanna Josefiina. The exhibition will display the artworks and curatorial projects of more than 30 De Structura participants from across Europe.
Finally, a public programme will take place for the duration of the exhibition: four days, four themes, four groups of speakers. Artists, researchers and curators will introduce a range of projects they have developed within the framework of De Structura, while the founders and partners will share current opportunities in the art sector aimed at helping young artists and art professionals in their early careers. A detailed programme will be published on both the De Structura website (https://destructura.com/unveilingstructures/) and its Instagram page (destructura) prior to the exhibition opening.
“In this space, the lens changes, the spatial limitations of the gallery no longer exist, and invisible structures are placed in ideal lighting conditions at a carefully chosen location side by side with the works of art. We have put a lot of work into it. Take a look.” – excerpt from curatorial text.
The exhibition will be open on 20 July and run until 6 August at Kogo Gallery. Kogo is located at Aparaaditehas, Kastani 42 in Tartu, Estonia. Opening hours are 13:00 to 19:00 from Tuesday to Sunday, with the exhibition space closed on Monday. For more information, please visit the exhibition page (https://destructura.com/unveilingstructures/).
The project is funded by the Allianz Foundation, the European Cultural Foundation, the city of Narva, and is co-funded by the European Union.
