Testimonials Visiting Curators Vienna 2021
I appreciated immensely the experience of being one of the curators in residence in Vienna alongside three wonderful curators. The honor of meeting the team of Verein K is one of the most enriching assets and the model they are proposing is one of the best I seen. The 10 days spent in Vienna were very intense and diverse, following the lines of how curatorial research should look like and I feel extremely lucky to be able to feed my professional experience further from the meetings, exchanges, and dialogues I had. The results will definitely impact my future curatorial choices, will develop in the future and will create new bridges and networks between Romania and Austria. The program put together by Verein K was meaningful on many levels: the contacts and the information I absorbed; the friendships and dialogues developed with the team, but also with my peers; the professional model that will be a reference point in my future projects. A big thank you to Verein K, the participants and all the artists involved!
The Visiting Curators Vienna residency was an inclusive experience offering a glimpse into the Viennese contemporary scene. The Verein K team possesses an extraordinary knowledge of the city, its cultural producers, artists, its architectural histories and its quirks and shares this openly and effectively. I think of the experience as offering no less than a graduate-level course on contemporary Viennese artists, as well as its curated infrastructure. The unique affordances of a personalized itinerate schedule were arranged with no small effort and will produce an exceptional showing of the Viennese scene in Norway.
Jelena, Dejan, and Klaus approach the well-being of the visiting curators with a graceful touch. Their exceptional coordination of the programme made one feel at home in the city and made the quest to discover gems within Vienna’s broad artistic landscape a success. The programme is of great value in showing off the talented scene in Vienna and building international cooperation.
During November 2021, as the health situation becomes even more complex, it has been very interesting to concretize this time of exchanges and meetings within Verein K programme. This type of short curatorial/research residency and of professional mobility is something valuable as independent curator: it allows to move its own research and to “shake” some preconceived ideas on an artistic scene through numerous studio visits and meetings with emerging and confirmed artists. We were a group of 4 curators who also took pleasure in exchanging and sharing. Our exchanges have given me a better understanding of current cultural policies and societal issues facing the art scene in Vienna and more generally in Austria. This time is precious for giving future collaborations. Many thanks to the artists, to Jelena, Dejan and Klaus for your energy and attention as well as to Diana, Rieke and Mickael for those “suspended moments” in our personal and professional lives.
2021 was a year full of challenges. After a postponement of one year, I was excited that our residency in Vienna could finally take off in November, to be confronted with a total lockdown of the city two days after arrival. Nevertheless, the team of Verein K managed to navigate unexpected circumstances and provide us with a very inspiring and explorative time in Vienna. I was able to meet a lot of artists whose practice I followed for many years, and got to know the vibrant artistic local scene, albeit mostly during private meetings in artist studios or galleries that were closed to the public. The team of Verein K gave insightful background information on the local context that artists and organizations work in and was able to accommodate last minute wishes based on new discoveries. I quickly bonded with the three other curators that were selected alongside of me and with whom I continue to stay in touch. My time in Vienna already resulted in several publications and initiatives in The Netherlands, and I hope it is the start of a long-lasting exchange with this exuberant city.
Verein K is an independent arts and cultural organization from Vienna, founded in January 2018. Verein K focuses on projects in the field of contemporary art and culture connecting diverse cultural and social interests: critical approaches to contemporary art, creating curatorial platforms as well as enabling innovative cultural practices including diverse social groups.