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Artist-Run Network Europe: International Lab
published Thursday 19 January 2023
Ormston House welcomes Alice Máselníková and Rob Knijn to Limerick as part of the Irish activities of our Creative Europe project, Artist-Run Network Europe. With our project partners, we will conduct a week-long lab examining the social value and impact of artist-run initiatives. Such initiatives are often working with limited resources and capacities, and existing methodologies can be either unsuitable or daunting to undertake. The aim of the international lab is to produce a practical guide to researching and articulating social value and impact, specific to artist-run visual arts organisations, adaptable to differing needs and capacities, and considering local and international contexts from our European network.
For Artist-Run Network Europe, Alice Máselníková represents our lead partner Candyland (Stockholm, Sweden), and Rob Knijn represents the Alternative Art Guide and The Naked Foundation (The Hague, The Netherlands). We will also be joined by Belfast-based Jane Morrow and Limerick-based Dylan Ryan who have been contributing to the local and online labs as part of the Irish research activities.
The previous Research Lab #2 was led by curator Niamh Brown with local and international experts. Ormston House has been facilitating a series of research labs in Limerick to explore the social impact and expanded value of artist-run initiatives, as part of Artist-Run Network Europe. The virtual Research Lab #1 introduced the project and terms of reference in early May, and the week-long Research Lab #2 took place in person at Ormston House with participating researchers Ashling McGrory, Jane Morrow, Maite Pinto, Dylan Ryan, and Dr. Simon Thompson. As artist-run initiatives are often small in scale and work with precarious levels of funding, quantitative evaluations don’t always communicate their true impact. The study of social impact can provide a qualitative approach for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the contributions of the sector to civic life. Many initiatives in the artist-run sector have little time and few resources and capacities to develop collaborative methodologies for social impact studies. Through research, interviews and surveys, the research labs at Ormston House aim to build a blueprint that is accessible to, and can be used by, the wider artist-run sector to articulate how they add value to their communities and locations.
Jane Morrow is an independent visual art curator, writer and PhD researcher based in Belfast. She is interested in infrastructure for artists; working across network and production contexts, and through creating formal and informal developmental platforms for practitioners. Resourcing, nurturing and profiling others’ practices has been a longstanding facet of her approach. Jane’s practice-led PhD research focuses on the precarity of artists’ studios and workspaces; labour and practice, collaborative and co-operative models, and permanence and peripateticism.
Ashling McGrory is a postgraduate researcher at Limerick School of Art & Design. Her research explores students’ and graduates’ experiences of the transition from their fine art degree into the working world. During her studies, Ashling worked as a Social Impact Researcher at Humanli, where she developed her passion for helping others do good. Through this role, Ashling began to build meaningful relationships with Humanli’s family member charities and partners, gaining excellent insights into the corporate environment, and running corporate events.
Dylan Ryan is a final year Print & Contemporary Practice student at Limerick School of Art & Design. During their studies, Dylan has worked for a variety of arts organisations including EVA International, the Project Arts Centre, and PeakShow Exhibitions in Limerick. They have also been involved in artist-run initiatives through the establishment of the LSAD Exhibition Society, which they have co-directed since 2021; and establishing the nomadic CMYKollective, a group of artists working together to publish and exhibit their work collectively to a wide audience of interconnected networks.
Dr. Simon Thompson currently resides in Limerick City, juggling his practice as a clown and masked artist with various roles in academia and community-engaged arts programmes. Simon is currently the coordinator of the Communities of Culture programme at the Hunt Museum, and lectures on the MA in Festive Arts, and the BA and MA in Contemporary Dance programmes at the University of Limerick. Simon’s research explores new creative pedagogies in relation to multidisciplinary training within the performing arts.
LUFT – international networking event to highlight and connect the European artist-run art scene
published Monday 22 August 2022
LUFT – international networking event to highlight and connect the European artist-run art scene takes place Saturday, 10th and Sunday, 11th of September 1–5 pm at KUNSTPUNKT, Schlegelstr. 6, 10115 Berlin.
Eighteen initiatives from The Hague, Limerick, Stockholm, Riga, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Berlin present their spaces and organisations, as well as selected art works at their stands in order to show their activities and start new collaborations.
Saturday, 10th of September:
• 1–5 pm the presentation stands open for the public.
• 5 pm lecture “The Ebb and Flow of Berlin Project Spaces” by Chris Benedikt & Oliver Möst from the Netzwerk freier Berliner Projekträume und – initiativen with open discussion
Sunday 11 th of September:
• 1–5 pm the presentation stands open for the public.
• 3 pm ARRC launch to the general public. Lecture “What is the ARRC and how to use it“ by Adi Levy
Candyland, Stockholm (SE) Ormston House, Limerick (IE) The Syndicate of Creatures, Copenhagen (DK) The Alternative Art Guide, The Hague (NL) Totaldobže, Riga, (LV) Artist-Run Alliance, Berlin/Tel Aviv (DE/IL) Eulengasse, Frankfurt a.M. (DE)
A-TRANS
Kulturhaus Bouché
Organ Kritischer Kunst (OKK)
Group Global 3000
Co-Re | Ummu
Art Laboratory Berlin
Galerie Toolbox
Hilbertraum
Lichtenbergstudios
Nationalmuseum
>top – Transdisciplinary Project Space
LUFT is organised by Kim Dotty Hachmann and Matthias Roth from >top e.V. with the support of the Netzwerk freier Berliner Projekträume und -initiativen. ARNE is co-funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe and the Creative Europe program of the European Union.
Back to Normal – a collaborative and international exhibition and network event in The Hague
published Monday 27 June 2022
Alternative Art Guide proudly presents Back to Normal — a collaborative and international exhibition + network event initiated by Alternative Art Guide and Artist-Run Network Europe (ARNE). Between 1–24 July three group exhibitions will take place in the centre of The Hague, at Quartair, Trixie and Billytown.
This project is loosely based on the idea of normality after the pandemic, and now also challenged by the war in Ukraine. Is an artist-run space only a presentation and production hub, or do we need to reconceive what we are doing? Do we have to stop at our pace more regularly and engage in self-reflection? And, should we not rather move forward than to go back to the normal?
Alternative Art Guide invited four artist-run spaces from The Hague to join this project: Hgtomi Rosa, Quartair, Trixie and Billytown. Each of them pairs up with one artist-run space from Europe and one from outside of Europe, to form a collective of sorts and present 24 invited artists from all 12 spaces.
Opening hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 13:00–18:00
(Billytown also opens on Thursdays, 13:00–18:00)
Trixie: Scheldestraat 1-11
Billytown: Helena van Doeverenplantsoen 3
Quartair: Toussaintkade 55
1 July (Fri) 19:00
Opening: collective walk tour route: Trixie - Billytown - Quartair
2 July (Sat) Billytown 14:00–18:00
Interview, performance, survey meeting and network meeting*
3 July (Sun) Trixie 13:30 / Quartair 15:00 / Billytown 16:30
Informal talks by artists
* Programme 2 July (Sat):
Interview: Curator, producer and writer Sasha Dees will be interviewed on her recently published book Entangled Species, conversations on contemporary art in the Caribbean. This book showcases the depth and variety of artists and art communities of the Caribbean. Sasha will be interviewed by Angela Bartholomew, an assistant professor of modern and contemporary art history, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. One of her questions will be: how is the artist-run space run in such a vast but fragmented region?
Performance: The interview will be followed by a public participatory workout session by artist Kexin Hao.
Survey meeting: At 15:30 there will be an experimental survey meeting with roundtable talks on self-reflection in the artist-run sector. Is there enough self-reflection in your organization? The survey meeting will be followed by round table talks and an informal network meeting with drinks and bites after that. Bring your business cards, get to know everybody, be better networked!
Elene Rakviashvili, Georgia
Manuchar Okrostsvaridze, Georgia
Lehna Huie, USA
Dana LaMonda, Netherlands
Barney de Krijger, Netherlands
Jonas Raps, Netherlands
Thijs Jaeger, Netherlands
Sheila Chukwulozie, Nigeria
Iva Kuzmanović, Serbia
Nina Ivanović, Serbia
Nemanja Nikolić, Serbia
Marija Šević, Serbia
Lidija Delić, Serbia
Letizia Cassetta, ItalQing Qu, China/Italy
Jan Dirk Adams, Netherlands
Yukari Nakamichi, Netherlands
Raily Yance, Venezuela/Curaçao
Bram De Jonghe, Belgium/Netherlands
Bernice Nauta, Netherlands
Cristian Răduță, Romania
Daniela Pălimariu, Romania
Zhang Miao, China
Jin Ningning, China
Kexin Hao, China
Back to Normal is part of The Hague Contemporary Art Weekend 2022
Back to Normal is supported by:
Stroom Den Haag, ARNE, Creative Europe, Municipality of The Hague
Artist-Run Network Europe launches the Artist-Run Resource Centre (ARRC)
published Friday 6 May 2022
Artist-Run Resource Centre (ARRC) is a brand new online knowledge and skill-sharing platform dedicated to the artist-run sector and open to everyone – both professionals from the art community and those interested in art and how the art scene operates.
The platform serves as a resource of information and material of applied tools relevant to initiating, maintaining, and promoting artist-run initiatives along with research content and an index of other online platforms and is constantly growing.
How do artist-run spaces operate? What does one need to do to start a gallery or a collective with other artists? Does the independent art scene differ across the world? What role do these initiatives have in the art sector? This and much more is to be found on ARRC in a variety of formats, from articles, interviews, podcasts and videos.
All content on Artist-Run Resource Centre is uploaded by its users – artists, curators, artist-run initiatives and other members of the art and culture communities. If you have content to upload, please do not hesitate to use our simple uploading form. ARRC is developed as a part of Artist-Run Network Europe co-funded by Creative Europe.
Explore the platform yourself and find out more at www.artistrun.eu !
With questions please contact us at hello@artistrun.eu
Artist-run initiatives are usually run by artists, sometimes together with curators or other creatives. They can have many different shapes and formats, such as galleries, artists’ associations, collectives, galleries, pop-up spaces, nomadic projects and many others.
The Artist-Run Resource Centre is our – the artists’ – response to the ever growing-need for a coherent source of information relevant and related to the artist-run scene. ARRC originates in the Creative Europe-funded project Artist-Run Network Europe. As a group of diverse partner organisations from across Europe with a variety of experience from running artist-run initiatives (and most of us being artists as well), we identified the gap in accessing and sharing skills and knowledge with our peers and decided to do something about it.
Artist-Run Resource Centre allows anyone who feels they have something to say about the artist-run scene to contribute and share their experience. All this in a user-friendly format which makes the uploading experience easy to navigate. At the same time the platform offers access to artists and non-artists alike to find information about all aspects of the artist-run world.
We want to strengthen the artist-run scene, make it sustainable and accessible to everyone.
We believe that the spirit of collectivity and solidarity which exists within each artist-run initiative should be allowed to manifest and grow also in the international network of artist-run initiatives. The knowledge and experience gained by one initiative must be transmittable and accessible to other artist-run initiatives. Only through easy and transparent sharing of skills can we strengthen the artist-run sector and other creative communities they impact on.
We believe that the artist-run sector deserves a place which gathers all theoretical, historical, and critical content.
Images: Screenshots by Adi Levi, Artist-Run Alliance.
Meeting of European and Baltic independent initiatives and spaces at cultural centre SODAS 2123
published Monday 25 April 2022
Location: SODAS 2123 (Vitebsko 23, Vilnius) 27.4–29.4.2022
‘Vilnius Meeting 2022: Schools & Gardens’ aims to create a horizontal space of exchange between established professionals about the current developments and futures of independent cultural fields. Members of two networks – Artist-Run Network Europe (ARNE) and Independent Initiatives Baltics (IIB) will be taking part in this exchange.
‘Schools and Gardens’ will be a buzzing three day professional event with part of its activities open to the public, unfolding in SODAS 2123 indoor and outdoor surroundings just waking up from the long winter sleep.
The audiences will be able to listen to the presentations by an array of invited organisations and spaces from the Baltics: Estonians from Tallinn – Hoib Gallery, Rundum, FOKU; Latvians from Riga – LOW gallery, 427, RIXC; Lithuanians from various cities – apiece, Verpėjos, Lokomotif, Montos Tattoo, Trivium, Swallow, Atletika, FAMM, Architecture Fund. They will intersperse with presentations by artist-run initiatives from ARNE: Candyland, and Flat Octopus (Stockholm, Sweden), Ormston house (Limerick, Ireland), Alfred Institute (Tel Aviv, Israel), Totaldobre (Riga, Latvia), Alternative Art Guide (The Hague, The Netherlands), Top e.V. (Berlin, Germany). International participants will also visit spaces in the city Editorial, VITRINA&Bench and Išgirsti.
On the evening of 29th there will be a public performance programme curated by project space Swallow at SODAS 2123. Empty Brain Resort (SODAS 2123) will greet the night with a music programme.
The overall meeting is titled ‘Schools and Gardens’, which is lifted straight off the meeting location and its initiator – an artist-run cultural centre SODAS 2123, organised by LIAA, based at the premises of an ex-school building. While being a reference to this abundant space housing many independent initiatives, it is also a way to establish the imaginary for the meeting around the visceral, and necessarily collective places of schools and gardens. They ensure growth but not without growing pains; they supply us with tacit and social knowledges upon which we build and sharpen our tools for their cultivation – if done right, and with a tender hand.
Location: Cultural centre SODAS 2123, Vitebsko Str. 23, Vilnius.
Dates: 27-29 April 2022.
Link to full public programme:
PROGRAMME – Schools & Gardens 2022.pdf
Organiser: Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association in partnership with SODAS 2123 and Kaunas 2022.
LIAA activities funded by Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality. The event is organised with the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for Culture. Main information partner – 15min.
Image 1: Flyer, Schools & Gardens 2022.
ARNE list of links to resources for artists, creators, cultural workers and other Ukrainians fleeing war
published Thursday 24 March 2022
As partner organisations of Artist-Run Network Europe and members of the international artistic community are collectively opposed to the current military invasion of Russia in Ukraine.
We call on peace and firmly reject all forms of warfare and violence.
We call for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict as the only way forward.
War is not the answer.
ARNE network partners have put up a list sharing links to different kinds of support for Ukrainians – accommodation, artist residencies, grants for creators.
Link to the list.
Conference Talking Change – Towards a Sustainable Art World
published Tuesday 24 August 2021
Location: Godsbanen, Aarhus 20.8.2021, 10am–3.30pm
The conference is taking place during Juxtapose Art Fair 2021
The art world is an integrated part of global production. We know that it is time to give up old privileges, work for the environment, for social equity and to take responsibility by being co-creators of new sustainable structures. The artist-run sector is where we ourselves can generate change, within production, agency and ideology.
The panel will engage each other and the audience in a conversation based on experience and knowhow on organisational skills, resources and sustainability. We join to share concrete ideas to utopian perspectives on how we can develop our thinking, methods and artistic practice in the uncertain and very different future that lies ahead.
Keynote speaker: Åsa Sonjasdotter (SE) Panel: Rikke Luther (DK), Anna Ganslandt (SE), Scott William Raby (US), Andreas Führer (DK), Jet Pascua (PH/SE) and Anna Walther (DK). Moderator: Nanna Gro Henningsen (DK)
ABOUT Talking Change
According to the scientists we are hurtling towards a global suicide , if we don’t act fast. Ours is not a call to surrender – we know that the state of the planet very critical and therefore we call upon the artist-run to join in re-imagining possible new ways of working. We know that the art world is an integrated part of global production; we know that the spin-off from our work influences societies; We know that the artist-run is where we ourselves can generate a change, within the ways of production and ideology; besides that, we know that it is time to give up old privileges, work for the environment, for social equity and take responsibility by being co-creators of new sustainable structures.
The invited panel will through conversation, contribute with their experience from the artist run sector – with concrete ideas as well as utopian perspectives on how we all can develop our thinking, methods and artistic practices in the uncertain and very different future that lays ahead.
We acknowledge that artist-run projects are diverse and spring from very different needs and ideas. This richness of different experiences is vital since we do not know what –if anything– is going to produce an effect, we have to test all options with no guarantees. It's the most rational thing to do. Even making mistakes usually means gaining experience. This is the hopeful part of all the new movements around policies for a sustainable art world: ideally, people practice how to organise and act in common. The conference aims to share what different artist run projects have learned in their processes.
We believe that artist run projects are a huge resource in terms of mapping the political economy and social relations of contemporary art, consider the implications of algorithmic cultures and the posthuman condition, and discuss notions of solidarity, how to construct a new and inclusive “we” in the face of climate change.
Organisers: Signe Vad (DK) and Nanna Gro Henningsen (DK) from the Syndicate of Creatures. The conference Talking Change - Towards a Sustainable Art World is initiated in collaboration with Juxtapose Art Fair. The project is tSoC's contribution to the Creative Europe Project; Artist-Run Network Europe.
Image 1: Conference Talking Change – Towards a Sustainable Art World. Photo: ARNE.
Launching Artist-Run Network Europe: raising the visibility of the artist-run sector
published Friday 11 December 2020
is a European project with focus on artist-run initiatives co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. In the course of two and a half years (October 2020–April 2023) the project will host a range of activities, including exhibitions, conferences, workshops and lectures. ARNE aims to strengthen the self-organised artist-run sector in Europe with focus on local and international cooperation, and to create a simple information framework for art professionals and art students, namely through a collaborative online platform, Artist-Run Resource Centre (ARRC).
ARNE has seven partners and four associated partners. The partners are:
Ormston House, Limerick, Ireland
The Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association, Vilnius, Lithuania
>top – Association for the Promotion of Cultural Practice, Berlin, Germany
The Syndicate of Creatures, Copenhagen, Denmark
The Alternative Art Guide, The Hague, Netherlands
Totaldobre, Riga, Latvia
And associated partners:
Aarhus Center for Visual Art/Juxtapose Art Fair, Aarhus, Denmark
Fine Art and Department of Visual Arts, Konstfack, Stockholm, Sweden
Supermarket – Stockholm Independent Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
It is common not only in the artist-run sector but the arts in general for the public to feel excluded from the art world, and in particular the activities of the ‘underground’ artist-run spaces can be considered niche and inaccessible. In a multi-layered format, the project bridges the gap between European cultures, professions and artists at different stages of their careers. It promotes international collaboration and mutual respect, and emphasises the importance of simple, transferable methods and a user-friendly layout of the online resource centre.
Artist-run initiatives are usually run by artists, sometimes together with curators or other creatives. They can have many different shapes and formats, such as galleries, artists’ associations, collectives, galleries, pop-up spaces, nomadic projects and many others.
The artist-run sector is varied across countries and exists in different formats. Many artist-run spaces start from spontaneous artists’ groups based solely on the enthusiasm of its organisers, often without previous experience. At the same time, the artists are professionals who have hands-on knowledge about art, technical skills, and a broad competence in many aspects of exhibition production that are valuable to share. However, it is common that artist-run initiatives lack the networks that would connect them with each other or allow them to exchange their knowledge.
Artist-run initiatives often work on a limited budget and function only locally, unable to invite international artists, exhibit their artists abroad or conduct research trips. Promotion of transnational mobility of artists and curators is vital for the development and strengthening of the independent art sector. ARNE will work specifically with local initiatives and regional organisations, and get them involved in the project events as local coordinators or participants.
Artist-run initiatives can seem fairly obscure to general audiences and art professionals alike. Those who start artist-run initiatives often lack the skills necessary to promote their programme and reach out to people. The project opens up new opportunities and serves to reach broader audiences in the countries of the partners and participants.
The lack of a targeted, sustainable exchange of knowledge and skills between artist-run initiatives, as well as with public and education institutions is an issue prevalent within the artist-run sector, and transferring of knowledge is rare. It is common that artists engage voluntarily for a period of time before becoming exhausted and leaving their initiatives without forwarding their experience to the next generation. ARNE will facilitate connections and collaborations, show alternative economic models, funding opportunities and survival strategies through the events, documentation and uploading the materials on the Artist-Run Resource Centre.
ARIs often work with a flexible programme and are situated in a continuous state of financial insecurity. They learn on-the-go; taking inspiration from each other increases their chances for sustainability. It is quite common that the lifespan of ARIs tends to fluctuate – some that close down after one year of activity to veterans initiated in the 1990s who serve as role models for younger ARIs. Together, small ARIs can have a much larger outreach.
will serve as a free resource centre of skills and knowledge dedicated to the specific needs of artist-run initiatives. It will contain a comprehensive presentation of the artist-run sector, feature articles, a glossary, links and a searchable archive of content. A longer-term aim of the platform is that the content is co-created by its users, ensuring that it stays up-to-date and relevant.
Follow ARNE on Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on the development of the project.
Image 1: AIM Plovdiv 2019, Local Connections seminar. Photo: Todor Nenov.
