With 'Manufactories of Caring Space-Time', the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent, 49 Nord 6 Est FRAC Lorraine (Metz) and Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona) created a platform for reflection on the relational, collaborative and collective as new trends in art. For two years, workshops, performances, interviews and moments of reflection went on at the art organisation and its many partners. In total, more than 2,000 visitors participated. Finally, the results of these two years came back to Ghent, for a major final exhibition.
Two years and three international projects
In 2015, MSK visitors built the Micromuseum Ghent, together with Russian artists Gorod Ustinov. Together with the museum visitors, the duo set to work with simple and sometimes old materials. By looking at, feeling and thinking about these materials, they create new forms. Seemingly contradictory materials, such as textiles and bullet casings, are transformed into means of communication through this process.
In 2016, a series of movement workshops continued, guided by Tunisian choreographers Selma and Sofiane Ouissi. They explored the power of non-verbal communication and its potential to transcend national borders, social differences and language barriers. The result of these workshops took the form of a performance: 'Le moindre geste'.
And in 2017, work revolved around discarded objects, and how we can give them a new life. Blanca Callén (researcher), Soledad Gutiérrez and Laurence Rassel (curators) investigated the (re)valuation of objects. In collaboration with arts venue Manoeuvre, ONBETAALBAAR and writer Anneleen Van Offel, this project travelled from Spain to Ghent. There you could give discarded objects a new life, through creative writing workshops, packing sessions and auctions.
Closing exhibition in Ghent
For the final exhibition, the results of the three projects travelled back to Ghent. There, they were complemented by new interventions by artists Patricia Esquivias (Spain), Grace Ndiritu (Kenya/United Kingdom), Oriol Vilanova (Spain), Slinkachu (United Kingdom) and Manoeuvre (Ghent, Belgium). Moreover, during the opening night and the following weeks, the performance 'Le moindre geste' by Selma and Sofiane Ouissi was performed several times on stage.
Protocols for the future
Each of the three projects that continued under 'Manufactories' was translated into a concrete manual or protocol. This allows each organisation to work on its own with the lessons learned by MSK and its partners over two years of experimentation. With the protocols, the project partners want to pass on their experiences to the future, and let the project live beyond the boundaries of their own organisation.