Resititution in practice

Our incomplete baby; "Resitution in Practice" was a project that found us in a low energy, dispersed moment. All in different places, doing different business and still shaking off the covid times. We drove this project with two members, which was in the end a very sweet time of care, sharing and intellectual simulation.

Working Concept

Abstract:

We propose a series of public events in the fall which investigate

questions of ethics and restitution in the museum’s collections as a jumping-off point

to wider questions about restitution and positionality.

Methodology (ie philosophical lens, guiding theory):

Decoloniality. Rather than approach this year’s activities from a solely-queer perspective,

we want to broaden our thinking to embody a more intersectional social theory,

which would – of course – encompass queerness. This approach also guides how

we consider other means of sharing information.

Methods (ie framework of activity, approach):

Artistic Research. The Office of Queer Affairs will collect documentation for each event,

then collectively select & shape that documentation into a creative response in

the form of a zine to be printed by the Gemeente. Documentation methods will depend

on the contours of each event (a talk vs. an hour of movement, for example) and

we’ll be generating these methods alongside inviting guests. The activities will be geared

towards generating creative responses to the material with participants, which

can be documented. This depends also on the different approaches the participants

want to take and has an emphasis on who will be invited.

Research Questions:

These questions are meant to help the invitees plan their

events and are not meant to be all answered by a single guest/even nor exhaustive

of all possible questions in this vein: What does discussion and

experiment/experience around decoloniality teach us about restitution, or healing

more generally, in practice? In what ways can thinking/doing about decoloniality

deconstruct and reconstruct an activity/practice? How can museums and curation

help us understand restitution in our everyday lives? What does restitution look like

as an ongoing practice? How does restitution look different in practice depending on

a person’s (or institution’s) positionality?

Background:

Last year the Office of Queer Affairs worked closely with the

museum’s collection to develop a Love Letters Tour for the new collection

presentation. Inspired by this work with the museum’s collection and working with the

context of the museum in mind, this year we propose to hold three public events

which connect the museum’s ongoing work with decoloniality with broader questions

of repair and restitution.

Description:

We imagine a set of three stand-alone events, each approaching the

research questions from the guests’ positionality and from within that person’s artistic

practice. The first event would be related to museum curation and questions about

restitution which situate the conversation within the space we’ve been given at Van

Abbe. For the two following events, we intend to invite people whose creative

practices may not immediately be associated with a contemporary art museum, for

example, individuals or collectives who practice braiding hair, or applying henna, or

singing. For each event we’ll gather documentation specific to that activity or talk,

then once all the events are over, we’ll analyze and collate and design the materials

into a publication and send it to the Gemeente for printing.