Thorning Point – Forms of collective actions, curated by Melody Robine and Alessia Simonetti, is conceived as a place for exchange and dialogue between independent cultural spaces from across Europe.
The exhibition is an invitation extended to participating independent spaces to present a work representative of their artistic research, and to reflect on the conditions of autonomy, self-organization, and collective agency — or, to put it in a spikier way, on the very thorny turning point that independent creation is facing in the present.
The title, Thorning Point, plays with words, intertwining “thorn” and “turning point”. How thorny can a turning point be, you ask? For the artists presented, the thorn — inspired by the work proposed by Spazio Y — represents a disruptive and generative force, which at the same time protects a space of creative freedom and solidarity. It evokes the nature of independent cultural spaces: experimental and autonomous environments that, outside institutional frameworks, explore innovative and critical artistic and research practices. ATurning point, hopefully, is what happens when these experiences come together: encounters, changes maybe, and the possibilities of imagining – and building – new shared perspectives.
Through the works it brings together, Thorning Point questions our ways of inhabiting the present and the spaces assigned to us. It speaks of the possibility of sweetness and queer desires on a burning earth (Klelija Živković), of nameless submissions carried across generations (Jana Jovašević). It speaks of the tragic banality of our landscapes (Yurii Gruzinov and Oleksiy Say), and of the thorns that protect and disrupt the spaces we inhabit (Paolo Assenza and Nicola Rotiroti).
Participating artists:
Klelija Živković for SCS Centar-Jadro (Skopje)
Jana Jovašević for U10 Art Space (Belgrade)
Paolo Assenza and Nicola Rotiroti for Spazio Y (Rome)
Yurii Gruzinov and Oleksiy Say for Jam Factory (Lviv).
The exhibition “Thorning Point – Forms of collective actions”, is conceived as part of European dialogues in Skopje – Shared heritages and horizons, organized by the Institut Français and the French Embassy in North Macedonia.
The opening of the exhibition (October 1 at 4:30 PM at Centar-Jadro, Skopje) will be accompanied by a public conversation bringing together representatives of Spazio Y (Rome), U10 Art Space (Belgrade), SCS Centar-Jadro (Skopje), and Jam Factory (Kyiv). The participants will address the challenges, possibilities, and everyday practices through which independent initiatives emerge and create new contexts for artistic production and experimentation.
Press: Nova Makedonija / Vesti / Mia.mk
