Documentation on 03.05.2006 by UNITED for Intercultural Action
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The List is a document which contains the names of more than 7000 (known) refugees who died within, or on the borders of Europe. It is being compiled by UNITED for Intercultural Action – a European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees. For this project the List will be displayed as a poster campaign in 110 MUPI’s - outdoor advertising signs- throughout the city of Amsterdam for the duration of two weeks, March 14 - March 28, 2007. The poster campaign will not be commercially designed or contain any advertising, but only contain the List itself. The project will commence with a seminar held at Stedelijk Museum CS on 11, in which an international group of artists, filmmakers, photographers and academics will present work in the context of the list. Throughout the week an information center will be made available to the public at SKOR’s INkijk, in the center of Amsterdam. Here supplementary information about the ‘Death List’ and the many other international initiatives dealing with the issues of Europe being a fortress and the fate of refugees will be made available to the public.
The purpose of this project is to confront a general audience with this crucial document by making it visible within the public sphere. The urgency to do so lies in the consistent portrayal of Europe having an ‘inside’ and an ‘outside’. The representation of Europe as a fortress - through political discourse and therefore news agencies - leads to singular notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’. However, we are at a moment where the borders of Europe are in a process of redefinition and where what is external today can be internal tomorrow. Rather than portray Europe as an enclosed and limited entity, one could consider embracing the uncertainty of its boundaries as something positive and unlimited. The List as it is proposed here, however, is not merely meant as a socio-political project, but also as an experiment in exploring the borders and the scope of artistic practise. From this, it seeks out the limits of critical potential of the ‘cultural institute’ as well. What role can art play in the discussion on - and depiction of – Fortress Europe and migration? From what position can it do so?
Seminar & film screening, March 15
SMCS on 11 (Stedelijk Museum CS)
Oosterdokskade 5, Amsterdam
March 15, 7:30 – midnight
19:30 Welcome and brief introduction to the project by Cennetoglu and Van der Werf
19:45 Introduction to the topic by Marina Grzinic
20:05 Screening of Britanya by Marjoleine Boonstra (2005; 35 min.)
20:40 Statements and discussions by Marjoleine Boonstra, Paola Carta (UNITED for Intercultural Action), Willem van Weelden, Martin Krenn, Zelimir Zilnik and Ad Van Denderen
21:45 Go No Go by Ad Van Denderen (2003; 24min.)
22:15 Closing statement with public discussion
22:45 Introduction to Kennedy Goes Home, part I (2003; 78 min.) by Zelimir Zilnik following by the screening of the film
Marjoleine Boonstra, filmmaker and photographer. In 2002 she received the L.J. Jordaan prize from the Amsterdam’s Fund for the Art and the Icodo prize for her film Bela Bela. Boonstra’s films are to be seen internationally through various institutions such as Arte, BRT, VPRO and HBC.
www.marboni.nl
Ad van Denderen, photographer. Over the past twelve years Ad van Denderen has done many photographic reports on refugees, often during their dangerous migration, in order to put the viewer right at the scene of the action and penetrate to the heart of this sensitive subject. He has won various prizes for his work, and published in periodicals such as Vrij Nederland, Geo and The Independent.
www.go-no-go.nl
Marina Grzinic is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy at the Slovenian Academy of Science and Art in Ljubjana, Slovenia, and professor at the Academy of Visual Arts, Vienna. She is also active as a media theoretician, art critic and curator.
www.grzinic-smid.si
Martin Krenn, artist. In his work he investigates and treats social/political issues. He uses various media, including photography, video and internet to develop projects that take place in exhibitions and in the public space both virtually and physically.
www.martinkrenn.net
Willem van Weelden is a researcher, writer, visual artist and lecturer in the field of interactive media. He has been involved with many projects surrounding the topic of the social and political implications of media and information.
Zelimir Zilnik has been making and producing films in the former Yugoslavia since the 1960s. He was the founder of the production company Teresianum, and made television productions for the independent radio and television station B92 in Belgrade.
www.zilnikzelimir.net
www.unitedagainstracism.org
www.smba.nl
www.skor.nl
www.ideabooks.nl
www.sjakoo.nl
www.conflit.org
www.banucennetoglu.com
www.maisondescartes.com
The List is a project by artist Banu Cennetoglu and curator Huib Haye van der Werf, produced by Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Art in Public Space Foundation (SKOR), SMCS on 11, UNITED for Intercultural Action, Maison Descartes - Institut Francais des Pays-Bas, Idea Books, Het Fort van Sjakoo and Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. The List is supported by the American Center Foundation.