[spectre] TIRANA BIENNALE - U-Topos

[edi]

U-Topos

Tirana BIENNALE 2

September 2003



Organizer:                   Tirana Biennale Institute, under the

                                       patronage of Tirana City Hall



President:                    Mr. Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana City



Directors:                     Edi Muka, G‘zim Q‘ndro



Tirana Biennale is an international contemporary art production and
series of events. ãU-Toposä will open on September 2003, in Tirana, a
city under transformation and reconstruction, not through one
single-great plan but through countless interventions of all scales
of its own people.

The first Tirana Biennale succedeed in bringing together as diverse a
show in drives and energy as the city itself, and in creating an
atmosphere of communication and cooperation between artists,
curators, the city and its people, the likes of which are rarely
witnessed in contemporary art events. ãThe Escapeä confirmed the
process of cultural dialogue going on within the country, while
experimenting with new prototypes of co-production and communication,
which questioned many of the established values and practices within
the contemporary art scene.



CONCEPT

U-Topos

Utopia: (gk. nowhere land);  an imaginary island described in Sir
Thomas Moreâs Utopia (1516) as enjoying perfection in law, politics,
etc, any ideal place or state; any visionary system of political or
social perfection.



The fall of the last big Utopia, Communism, and the establishing of
Capitalism as the only World Order, made Fukuyama proclaim the end of
History. What has occurred recently has seriously questioned his
thesis while the end of history is not yet in sight.

The fall of universal and monolithic ideologies has dematerialised
the topos, making it an impossible topos (place), while claiming that
the only true topos is U-Topos, it is YOU and yourself as THE TOPOS,
it is your personal realm where your dreams and hopes come true. Is
there a Utopia today, and if so, is it more a personal or a
collective one? How does todayâs artist deal with imagination and
memory; how does he get access to both private and collective memory,
in its static and dynamic forms? In these times of great structural
changes of the collective mind and rapid globalisation, the artist's
task is to make people aware of such changes and create the new
decors and sensory experiences connected to them and discover the
suitable metaphorical artistic language. On the other hand, are we
living in a world where laic or religious messianic message is
outdated? Is the art of today able to convey such messages and is our
society really interested in them?

Art today is not anymore a reflection of any utopian reality but the
only topos where still exists a possibility of dreaming; the only
possible topos which reflects the inner beliefs, truths and doubts;
the land of impossible promises or the promise of the impossible, the
unreachable realm of unrealistic social and political projects,
together with its collective dreams and universal beliefs.

The first Biennale already took place, with its many problems and
excitements. Organizing the second one is again a reason to generate
the same disbelief, the same doubts and the same reactions, many of
which proved to be wrong already. Tirana, together with its lack of
hope, disgrace and intolerance, abnormality and provincialism, and
its Biennale too, seem to be the U -Topos, the place that best fits
the desire and the need to dream.



EXHIBITION STRUCTURE

Tirana Biennale 2, shall be structured according to the aims,
function and development of this event. The structure shall mirror
the complexity and the many layers of todayâs art system and art
praxis, as seen and perceived from many viewpoints. For this reason,
the TB2 shall be divided in four main sections:



1.	First section: 6 international curators shall be invited to
elaborate on the concept of ãU-Toposä, finalizing with a proposal of
a group of 5-6 artists each. The selection of the participating
artists shall not be based on a specific national participation,
rather on a broad reflection of the curatorial concept and approach
toward the show. The curators shall work independently from each
other.
2.	Second section:  6 international artists shall be invited to
elaborate on the concept of ãU-Toposä, finalizing with a proposal of
a group of 5-6 artists each. Inviting the artists to act as curators,
aims at offering a different perspective on the curatorial approach,
as well as challenging the curatorâs role and the power relations in
todayâs art system.
3.	Third section: Free proposals from individuals, groups of
artists, curators or individual artists are to be received. Out of
the whole of the free proposals, the TB2 shall make a selection that
shall constitute different group or individual shows within the
framework of the Biennale.
4.	Fourth section: The Tirana Biennale 2 shall offer the
possibility of presentation to non-institutional initiatives and
artist run spaces. This section shall also consider the free
applications and proposals that shall arrive to the organizers of
TB2. These proposals shall be put on display in one venue, on a shift
of 5 days per group, in order to give the possibility to as many
groups of artists as possible.



ãU-topos" will provide the neccessary organizational, presentation
and production layer for the development of art work and of the many
discussions going on within the contemporary art world. As such the
Tirana Biennale offers wide possibilities for participation and
research of the creation process and its impact or relationships with
the society and different social groups or individuals. The focus of
the exhibition will again be young artists, curators and art
professionals and the communication process between them.

Tirana Biennale 2, is scheduled to open in September 2003. ãU-topos"
will present works and concepts that deal with exhibition space in
new alternative ways, reflecting the high potential for presentation
that the media and techniques used by contemporary artists offer.

Finally, Tirana Biennale 2, will represent another important meeting
point of cultures, free expression, and exchange. ãU-toposä is open
for participation on all levels.





Autumn 2003 will be a good time to meet in Tirana.