into the pill - Issue 11PROGRAM - initiative for art+architecture collaborations video by Elaine W. Ho and Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga, 2008 *** PROGRAM – initiative for art and architecture collaborations (www.programonline.de) was founded in the fall of 2006 by Carson Chan and Fotini Lazaridou-Hatzigoga. It's a nonprofit project aimed at testing the disciplinary boundaries of architecture through collaborations with other fields. Our space in Berlin Mitte consists of an exhibition room, a large shared interdisciplinary office, a library, two artist studios and a residency space. PROGRAM functions mainly as a platform for artists, architects, critics and curators to explore ideas through exhibitions, research projects, workshops, lectures, and residencies. We founded the space as an attempt to find a different way to understand architecture, to “make” architecture. While most architectural exhibitions are comprised of floor plans, photographs, or models of buildings, we wanted to focus on the ways a space can be represented and experienced beyond the visual – a space equally composed of sounds and smells, temperature, context and the bodies moving through it... Most of our activities, whether they take the form of collaborative projects, exhibitions, residencies and/or discussions, are developed in an attempt to describe or question architectural ideas through mainly artistic strategies. At the core of our work is the idea to work together with people from various disciplines and we are excited to work together with like-minded individuals and groups, both locally and internationally. Rather than a ‘fusion’ we see these collaborations as an opportunity for each discipline to reevaluate its cultural position. The process thus becomes a way to learn together, and from each other. The exhibitions usually start with a set of questions that we are interested in. We are trying to work independent of an overarching agenda and be open enough to people and ideas that come our way. In the past we had exhibitions that developed over the course of a year with a lot of research and exchange between the architects/artists and us, while in other cases we work more spontaneously, setting up an exhibition as a sort of experiment, a quick way to test out an idea experientially. Our current show “Surface Values” (April 2009) is a site-specific installation by Finnish artist Eemil Karila. Karila collaborated with PROGRAM’s cleaning lady, adding a UV-sensitive solution into the water she used during her work. During the show, alternating black lights inside the seemingly empty gallery space trace the movements of the part-time cleaner, thus revealing one of the usually unnoticed forces that allow a space like ours to exist and function. Parallel to the exhibitions, PROGRAM runs a residency program, open to artists, architects, curators and theoreticians who wish to work on a project in Berlin for a period of three months. Throughout that time, the resident can use the space to freely explore questions and ideas in his/her practice through studio work or private study, while also being an integral part of the PROGRAM community. Norwegian artist Lars Laumann, whose film “Berlin-Muren” about the woman who married the Berlin Wall was shown in the Berlin Biennial last year, is the current artist-in-residence. We are also organizing various workshops, lectures and discussions, which offer another way to approach the various questions we are interested in and allow us to engage with a different audience, or with the same audience but in a different way. We recently launched a series of research-based urban projects and interventions that focus on the ways we relate to each other and our surroundings – series no.1 “PUBLIC” was organized in January in collaboration with artist Elaine W. Ho. Through a daily series of experiments, interventions and discourses, PUBLIC aimed to examine the potentiality of latency and open spaces made possible in the relations between individuals and publics. We often collaborate with artists and architects from all over the world but are at the same time trying to establish more links with local people and spaces, especially other artist-run spaces that may have a similar mission to ours. We have in the past pursued collaborations with local state institutions as well, like the Künstlerhaus Bethanien or the Technical University of Berlin, which is always interesting as it allows us to come in contact and work together with different parts of the local creative industries. As far as the artistic reality in Berlin is concerned, it’s actually quite hard to describe it – things are always in flux, changing, and there’s no strong established hierarchies which can feel very liberating at times. Galleries open and close, people move in and out of the city, and as a result there’s a lot of creative energy and room for all different kind of possibilities to emerge. In this context, it’s easy for a space like PROGRAM to be part of a larger artistic community, but this transience has its flip side too. Funding is always a struggle, especially since we have decided to stay non-commercial. We have a large workspace where individuals can rent desks on a temporary basis. This helps cover a big part of the operating costs, while at the same time creating a community of creative people – architects, graphic designers, journalists, programmers, and other freelancers who share the space. The exhibitions are funded separately, often by governmental institutions or private sponsors. PROGRAM - initiative for art+architecture collaborations
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