One of the talks at this year’s Art Cologne focused on the one hand on the Manifesta Biennials past editions, and on the other on the upcoming Manifesta in Zürich, Switzerland. In this excerpt, the artist Christian Jankovski, the curator of Manifesta 11 that will take place in Zürich in 2016, reveals his ideas for the upcoming biennial. The complete talk is available on further below.
Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art tries to examine the cultural topography of Europe. Every two years it finds a new city or region in which to temporarily embed itself. In the past Manifesta has typically selected peripheral or contested regions as Hosts.
Zurich has a very long history of artistic and intellectual liberalism. It was historically an incubator for revolutionary political and artistic movements. During periods of historical upheaval in Europe, Zurich offered asylum to intellectuals from around the world. Today, Zurich is one of the most economically and technologically advanced cities in the world.
This rich and rapidly evolving urban setting will give Manifesta 11 the opportunity to explore critical global issues relating to the processes of urbanization, urban space and society while reassessing the role art can play within these concepts.
Zurich’s dynamic and complex urban environment will provide a socially, politically and artistically significant trajectory for Manifesta in the coming years. Manifesta 11 is curated by Christian Jankowski.
Manifesta Talk at Art Cologne 2015. Cologne (Germany), April 16, 2015.
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Complete video (61:46 min.):