Artist-run space calls for proposals
MABONENG PRECINCT - The Goethe-Institut has put out a call for proposals for its artist-run project space, GoetheonMain.
The space has built a reputation for hosting exhibitions, workshops and performances since its 2009 launch.
“The Goethe-Institut is known worldwide for promoting intercultural engagement through fostering dialogue and exchange in the arts,” said spokesperson Benjamin Keuffel.
“GoetheonMain was developed by the Goethe-Institut South Africa and launched in May 2009 at Arts on Main as a non-commercial, artist-run project space – an exceptionally free platform in a city where cultural spaces are either commercially or governmentally managed.”
Keuffel said that the project selection process was central in understanding the philosophy of the space.
“In order to create an unbiased and open platform, the programme is decided by an independent committee of arts professionals, who meet after the yearly public call for proposals,” he said.
“Projects are invariably hotly debated. The focus above all else is on artistic quality, while maintaining a sensitivity for the context and local relevance, and favouring an experimental approach.”
The project space itself implies a “conceptual frame”, that of the city or “urbanity”, in which human relations are focussed on as much as the constructed environment.
“Previous projects at GoetheonMain have dealt extensively with politics of space, noting the stratified city, gentrification, issues of access, and a loss of the ‘centre’ so typical of many world metropolises,” said Keuffel.
“[They have also dealt with] the personal as political, focusing on private narratives, identities, eccentricities and broader global issues [that affect] the city dweller.”
The closing date for proposals for January to December 2015 is 15 August 2014.
Details: www.goethe.de/goetheonmain
