| Populism |
| 9 April – 4 September 2005 |
| Curators: Lars Bang Larsen, Cristina Ricupero
and Nicolaus Schafhausen |
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In spring 2005 NIFCA, the Nordic Institute
for Contemporary Art, launched Populism, an exhibition project
in four European cities exploring the relationships between contemporary
art and current populist cultural and political trends. The Populism
project attempted to formulate concrete spaces for experience, reflection,
and discussion linked to a contemporary political and cultural phenomenon
that is as complex as it is widespread. There is little doubt that populist
movements gain large parts of their persuasive power from their ability
to play on affects and desires that are supposedly exempt from the procedures
that mark official democratic politics. At this level an art exhibition
can provide a space that differs from that of other public forums. The
point of departure is the idea that the affects and desires that characterise
populist politics are not necessarily separate from the ones that find
expression in the sphere of art. Key questions are how forms of populism
– whether left wing or right wing, progressive or reactionary –
promote themselves and their quest for mass appeal through a stylistic
and aesthetic consciousness. The political imagination of visual art can
get involved in these economies of signs and desires, and address current
cultural discussions through proposals for other directions for democracy.
The exhibition did not aim to illustrate its theme through populist art.
Instead, the artists in the exhibitions dealt in different ways with populist
sentiments and ideologies of our time, through sub-themes such as: the
mass media projection of politics; market populism and the cultural industries;
group and corporate identities; representations and spaces of “the
people”; law, order and security; religious and moral controversy;
nationalism and xenophobia. While some artists strive to find positive
populisms beyond demagogy and give a voice to the dispossessed, others
explore alternative strategies of representation and organisation as a
critique of the populist promise.
Populism included new works and projects by around 40 international
artists and artist groups, bringing together challenging works in a multitude
of artistic strategies. The exhibitions took place in parallel at the
following venues: |
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| The Contemporary Art Centre,
Vilnius - 8 April through 8 June 2005 |
National Museum of Art, Architecture
and Design, Oslo -
15 April through 4 September 2005 |
| Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
- 29 April through 28 August 2005 |
| Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt
a.M - 10 May through 4 September 2005 |
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| Artists |
| Publications |
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