M o m e n t u m / Worldwide
Momentum is a global platform for time-based art: video/film, performance, new media and sound. Working on an innovative model which brings together arts professionals in an exhibition context blurring the commercial, noncommercial, and academic in order to rethink established models of institutional practices, Momentum invites us to think about how the art world is evolving alongside the art market and to shape its future development in a constructive way. As an innovative and sustainable alternative to the art fair, Momentum is a forum for creating an international discussion to find the terms for how we address art in this increasingly digital age. Bringing together commercial galleries, non-commercial spaces, performances, curated programs, and a discussion forum, Momentum is a truly global platform convening in different cities worldwide, and now with an exhibition space in Berlin. Momentum is also developing a network of international artist residencies designed to serve as project spaces for the artists, galleries, curators, and academics who take part in Momentum events worldwide, thus building a continuity between events and between a global network of arts professionals. The first residency is in Jerusalem inside the Old City, and will open in 2011. Furthermore, to nurture opportunities and a sense of community between Momentum participants, we will soon launch Momentum / X – the Studio Exchange Program.
M o m e n t u m / Berlin
Kunstquartier Bethanien 134
Mariannenplatz 2, Kreuzberg, 10997 Berlin
Wednesdays – Sundays: 13:00-19:00, and by appointment.
M o m e n t u m | Berlin presents:
Sumugan Sivanesan: THE ANTICOLONIALS
performance-lecture 17 February 2012 at 20:00 – 21:00
Sivanesan Retrospective 17 – 26 February 2012
BIO+CV | WEBSITE | GALLERY 4A |
Sumugan Sivanesan is an anti-disciplinary artist. Often working collaboratively, his practice is concerned with histories of anti-colonialism and transcultural exchange. He was invited through 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art to perform at MOMENTUM|Sydney (2010), with “Who’s Eating Gilberto Gil”, a performance-lecture using history, popular culture, art and music, invoking the tropes of cannibalism to discuss recent ideas about race, settler–colonialism and contemporary necropolitics. M O M E N T U M is proud to invite Sivanesan back with another performance-lecture on the topics which take his research-based practice around the world.
The Anticolonials traces a thread of anti-colonial anti-politics through history and into the present, offering a patchwork reading from scraps of material culture and glimpses of contemporary mediated life. Itinerant artist Sumugan Sivanesan will present a performance-lecture developed whilst shifting between Sydney, London and Berlin.
Sivanesan’s recent activities include: What’s Eating Gilberto Gil – a performance/lecture that proposes cannibalism as a strategy to counter neo–colonial violence, Jump Ship – an endurance/performance in collaboration with acclaimed tattoo artist WT Norbert that interrogates a history of South Asians at sea; Nice Dreams – a major installation with Gustavo Böke exploring what many regard to be the first act of terrorism in Australia; The Trouble with TJ – a series of installations, videos and text, marking 5 years since the death of aboriginal teenager TJ Hickey and the subsequent “Redfern Riots” ; a major installation at Cockatoo Island for the Biennale of Sydney, 2008 as part of theweathergroup_U; Gang 2008 – Australia/Indonesia cultural exchange. He is also active with media/art gang boat-people.org. He has exhibited at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (Sydney 2010), MOMENTUM (Sydney 2010), Black and Blue Gallery (Sydney, 2009), Sydney Underground Film Festival (2009), OK Video Festival (Jakarta, Indonesia 2009), Filmer la musique (France 2009) Transit Lounge (Berlin/Australia, 2006 & 2008), Transmediale (Germany 2006), Videobrasil (Brasil 2005), Gang (Indonesia/Australia 2005), Electrofringe (Australia 2003), Abstraction Now (Vienna 2003), New Forms (Canada 2003), The International Symposium for Electronic Art (Japan 2002), d>ART (Australia 2002 & 2004), Liquid Architecture (Australia 2002 & 2004 – 05).
Located within the vibrant arts community of Kunstquartier Bethanien, MOMENTUM|Berlin is an exhibition space dedicated to interrogating what is time-based art, and to promoting the work of distinguished international artists and galleries in the heart of Europe’s thriving art capital. International artists, galleries, and collections are invited to show time-based work, maintaining the overall focus of Momentum on film/video, performance, new media, and sound.
M o m e n t u m / Sydney
Adjacent to Carriageworks – 231 Wilson St, Eveleigh, Sydney, Australia
Momentum was launched in Sydney in 2010. Our inaugural event, Momentum / Sydney featured 6 leading international galleries. We also featured 6 performances and 5 internationally curated programs, and provided a project space for 6 local artists to create new work. Altogether showcasing 32 artists, we also brought together 32 of the world’s leading arts professionals in a series of specially designed talks and panel discussions, which can be viewed in their entirety on this site by following the links under Program.
Momentum / Sydney reactivated a dramatic early 20th century redbrick industrial space which had been vacant for 7 years, transforming it into an immersive environment for the presentation and viewing of video art and performance as well as for the professional dialogue which is integral to this platform. Located adjacent to Carriageworks, one of Sydney’s leading cultural centers for the visual and performing arts, Momentum:Sydney complements its role as a center for cutting edge contemporary art.
Momentum / Sydney remains active in Australia with initiatives designed to keep our legacy alive, and to support Australian content in Momentum events worldwide.
M o m e n t u m Residencies
Momentum is developing a network of international artist residencies designed to serve as project spaces for the artists, galleries, curators, and academics who take part in Momentum events worldwide, thus building a continuity between events and between a global network of arts professionals. The first residency is in Jerusalem inside the Old City, and will open in 2011.
Jerusalem and specifically the Old City at its heart presents artists with a unique opportunity to experience and address many of the issues shaping how we will live our future and how we will see our history. Cultures commingle within its walls which cannot seem to coexist outside them. The Old City in Jerusalem has maintained the peaceful coexistence of diverse cultures and religions in a geographic area where peace has for far too long been a rarity. Comprising the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian quarters, to this day it remains a sacred place for the western world’s major beliefs. Steeped in thousands of years of human history, this place is the historic and current epicenter for the cultural and ideological discourses which plague the Middle East and shape much of the rest of the world. As contemporary art reflects and comments on what drives and ails our societies, the Jerusalem Residency would present artists and visitors with a truly unique perspective from the very epicenter of these discourses: a chance to live and work at the point of convergence of so many cultures and beliefs in the midst of a crucial historical moment.
M o m e n t u m / X Coming Soon
Momentum / X is the Studio Exchange Program Momentum is developing in order to nurture opportunities and community amongst Momentum participants. Taking the form of an online forum accessible only to Momentum members, the Momentum website will thus become a vehicle to enable exchange between artists brought together through Momentum Events worldwide. Enabling the exchange not only of studios, but of ideas and opportunities as well. Momentum / X will perpetuate the dialogue and innovation which is aim of all Momentum Events.