Laboratorium of curatorial practices 2007/2008 invites you to a public presentation:

Mircea Nicolae
Visiting artist of Laboratorium's final project Destination: Metelkova

June 17th 2008 at 20.00
SCCA Project room, Metelkova 6, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Presentation of visiting artist is part of the final project of Laboratorium entitled Destination: Metelkova, within which this year's participants host Romanian artist Mircea Nicolae at Metelkova mesto between May 27 and June 27. The opening of the final exhibition will take place in Alkatraz Gallery on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 21.00. The exhibition will be on view until July 19, 2008.

Presentation of the artist is being organized by this year's participants: Petra Milič, Teja Rot, Jernej Škof (Slovenia) and Nataša Bodrožić, Vanja Žanko (Croatia).

Cordially invited!

Visiting artist

Mircea Nicolae (Bucharest, 1980) belongs to a younger generation of contemporary Romanian artists who lives and works in Bucharest. For two years now he has been exploring urban sites and deserted industrial buildings of Romanian cities Sibiu, Bucharest, the area of Ramnicu Valcea and Cluj. His work in progress consists of hundred interventions in abandoned and public buildings in Romania. Nicolae is investigating and revealing the historical background of specific sites that he occupies for a short period of time and transforms them into an exhibition space. Among the most mystical, intriguing and meaningful locations that have been brought to his attention and have touched him so far are theatres (experiment Deserted Cinema), shops (Deserted Shop, Calea Victoriei), historical and cultural monuments (Historical Monument, Memorial of Rebirth), deserted bakeries, church that was demolished during the Communist regime (Demolished Church), parliament in Bucharest (Plaster Molding) and various (partly) demolished city houses (Demolished Houses).

More:
mircea-nicolae.blogspot.com

Project Destination: Metelkova

The self-declared autonomous cultural centre Metelkova mesto, a demilitarised military compound, which at the beginning of the 90's represented one of the first civil initiatives in the struggle for public space in ex-Yugoslavia, today is a significant cultural point on the map of Ljubljana and the site charged with powerful symbolics. It's 'continuously undefined' status - on one hand, somewhere between the oscillating urbanistic projects and the local government's intentions, and on the other hand, the constant cultural production as a strategy of resistance and survival of the 'community' within it's frame - has made it a subject of constant political (and symbolic) frictions.

Metelkova is the location for the final project of Laboratorium of Curatorial Practices 2007/2008 - as both real and symbolic space, a point of production and networking, but also of consumption; a true community' and a myth of community.

Taking the given context of Metelkova, we opted for a somehow distanced view of Metelkova itself by choosing to invite a guest artist as part of our curatorial strategy. Thus we positioned ourselves as 'guests' in the field that has been changing and transforming over time, together with the symbolic surplus which was inevitably produced as a result of a dynamic relationship of Metelkova with it's immediate surrounding in the context of changes after the 90's.

The memory of space; the potential for different readings and creations of historical narratives; the mutations of symbols and signs; the actualisation and (re)production of history - these are only a few of the possibilities offered to the visiting artist in Metelkova. He will be working on artistic project for one month in direct communication with the immediate surroundings.

Following the selection process among approximately proposed ten artists, we have chosen the project of Mircea Nicoale for the final project. His interests lie in reflecting 'transition spaces'. His artistic practice is oriented towards interventions in abandoned industrial sites, interiors of deserted houses and similar places charged with powerful symbolic. Finding the challenge in working with different materials, Mircea Nicolae often refers to emotional, personal history as well as the urban environment of contemporary Romania, in conflict between the two 'different Europes'. Speaking of his own context and of Bucharest as a city of prediminantly socialist architecture, which eliminates all other possible preceding histories, Mircea Nicolae emphasises the impact of space and the memory of space on the everyday life.

Natasa Bodrožić, for Laboratorium of curatorial practices 2007/2008

Production
SCCA, Center for Contemporary Arts - Ljubljana
World of Art, School of Contemporary Art
Head of World of Art: Sasa Nabergoj
Mentor of Laboratorium: Petja Grafenauer Krnc
Coordinator of World of Art: Maja Lozic
E-mail: svetumetnosti@scca-ljubljana.si
www.worldofart.org

In collaboration with
Alkatraz Gallery
Masarykova 24, Ljubljana
Head of the gallery: Jadranka Ljubicic
Tel.: + 386 1 434 03 45
E-mail: kud.mreza@guest.arnes.si
www.kudmreza.org/alkatraz

Project is supported by
Okolje Consulting, d.o.o.; Municipality of Ljubljana, Department for culture; Ministry of Culture of Republic of Slovenia

Media sponsor
inDirekt

The World of Art is supported by Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia and Municipality of Ljubljana - Department for Culture.