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( Picture above: IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES™ installation view by Edwin Stolk 2012)

IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES

22 January till 4 March 2012

Baileystraat 11A (Marslanden G5)
8013 RV Zwolle, Netherlands

Flyer

(video still from research registration by Edwin Stolk)

Introduction:

It was 31 May 2011 that Edwin Stolk received a message through Facebook from Pim Trooster with the request to curate a show in 2012 as artist/curator. From this moment on Stolk started to gather information about the initiative and location and visited Mr. Trooster several times to share ideas and visions.

The final outcome of the project consists out of several layers, some with an ongoing character:

IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES is the title of the show but also refers to an ongoing membership campaign by THE .ORG, this organisation was founded by Stolk in January 2011 and is searching for participants to improve the bottom up influence in society. The situation by Stolk with the title: IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES ™ is part of the group show with the same name. During the show, as side events, there are two special gatherings listening to the name G-5_interselector. These gatherings will continue on various locations after this show.

( Picture above: one of the letters sent by THE .ORG after a concept by Edwin Stolk)

PDF from the letter in English here

Campaign by THE .ORG

Ongoing membership campaign by THE .ORG with the title/message IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES, this campaign draws attention for the movement with the brand name THE .ORG. The aim of THE .ORG is to stimulate cooperation between individuals and generate resources to improve the bottom up influence in society. THE .ORG uses the language of the corporate world but let the outcome function in reverse. Visit the website for more information if you're interested.

www.theorganisation.tk

Group show: IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES

Stolk selected and contacted 6 artists to participate in the show. He focused on emerging artists, working in different media, who appear themselves as visual 'tool' in their work. The exhibition became a diverse show with paintings, videos, sculptures and photography. The artists are dealing with social, political and economical issues and raise environmental awareness. At the opening Stolk asked the composer Merlijn Twaalfhoven to give a critical reflection on the 'white cube', taking his publication 'Art in the world' as point of departure.

Participating artists:

ISABELLE SCHILTZ (BE), ROBBERT WEIDE (NL), EMILE ZILE (AU), SEAN HANNAN (NL), MARIJKE UITTENBROEK (NL) HRISTINA TASHEVA (BG)

www.insearchofnewalliances.blogspot.com

( Picture taken just before sending the letters to more than 60 companies at De Marslanden G5, Zwolle, The Netherlands. December 2011)

Situation: IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES ™ by Edwin Stolk 2012.

The exhibition became the resource for: IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES ™

The question of Mr. Trooster, to focus on the exhibition space and realise a 'traditional' art exhibition as artist/curator created an inspiring dilemma for Stolk. His own art practise is shifting more and more out of the traditional art spaces, into public and corporate domain. Stolk as situationist decided to take the challenge and to make the whole process of realizing the exhibition subject for his work. He describes the outcome as a situation.

A conversation with Mr.Trooster followed about the low budget for realizing the show. Stolk stated that this was a starter but far too less to be able to talk about a fair compensation for the artists and to cover all expenses and time to realize this show. Mr. Trooster advised Stolk to try to get extra funding through the Fund for Visual arts (fonds BKVB). When Stolk mentioned the companies around the initiative P.Art of your life, Pim said that the corporate environment of the institute never contributed to a show, not even with materials.

Let me put this in the right perspective. Recently, while facing huge budget cuts, the arts are in heavy weather and put into a negative daylight. Halbe Zijlstra the State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science is also responsible for this negative climate in the Netherlands. Zijlstra spoke out loud on national TV that the people involved in culture should be more open for private initiatives and not only depend on government money. The arts are introvert, not listening to their public and far too depended of government money. This should change.

In Pauw & Witteman, a talk sow on Dutch TV, Zijlstra said: "For a stable future for culture we have to arrange that culture is getting its recourses from a broader source: private funding by individuals or companies and so on."

By forcing a cultural change inside the culture sector they should be able to change the position and payment of the artist. Within this context Stolk formulated himself the challenging assignment to achieve the best paid show ever for the participating artists and attract a broad audience on top of the usual 'in-crowd'. The institute P.ART of your life is situated in a company area so it's surrounded by an oasis of possibilities, you would think. The company Google with their product 'street view' helped Stolk to travel almost for free, a few days through the streets of the Marslanden G-5. Registering addresses, company names and studying their logos. This action was all recorded on digital video. The non-profit organisation THE .ORG helped with 5 people to edit and distributing more than 60 letters to companies within this specific area. The letters were all signed and numbered in the ORiGi 2copy/number series and contained the polite but urgent request to help realizing this exhibition. Records are achieved. The process of folding signing and sending was also recorded on video.

Outside the G-5 Marslanden area Stolk approached several wood companies in Zwolle personally, to ask for sponsoring wood. We talk here about wood with a total value of not more than € 200.-. The attempt of Stolk was without any success.

All art institutes in the area known by Stolk were contacted with the request to help realizing an education program connected to the show and publicity to attract the people of Zwolle to come to the show. Stolk offered is expertise for free. Unfortunately these activities were without any success.

He contacted the director of KCO, H. Moes, who writes on his institute website that: "our purpose is to create the possibility for every citizen of Overijssel (a province in the Netherlands) to get in touch with art and culture." An employer of KCO, who works part-time at KCO, received the assignment of Mr. Moes to get in touch with Stolk. He himself never replied Stolk's request. The final outcome of a slow communication trajectory was a promise to get the exhibition mentioned in their digital newsletter. Stolk stated that it is a very kind offer, but rather a marginal result for an institute with an introduction on their website of at least 36 employers.

The Stentor, a local newspaper was informed about the show and other local written press, without any result.

A lot of digital initiatives were contacted and placed the event in their activity calendars, like vvv and dagje weg.

The situation: IN SEARCH OF NEW ALLIANCES™ is visible in the exhibition by showing more than 60 letters all signed and numbered with the ORiGi 1copy/number. Together with three videos, one of the folding, signing and sending of the letters (video below), one with the street view observations (video below) and a third video with a teaser from THE .ORG edited from existing commercial material (video above). This project registration will be presented in P.ART of your life during the show: 22 January till 4 March and will be online during and after the show on Stolk's website.

This concept text is also available in PDF format, download it here

(Picture above: All companies within the tryangle form, starting at A where contacted by THE .ORG and recieved a letter.)

G-5_interselector

Stolk organizes two informal meetings with the title G-5_interselector during the show in Zwolle. The intention of these meetings is to redefine the role of contemporary art. Stolk will first tell something about realizing the group show, after that he wll show an overload of webbased art dealing with public space. Stolk is also known from the art blog Strange Messenger. G-5_interselector will be an attempt to raise questions about urgency, function and visibility in art.

G-5 refers to De Marslanden G5 but also to the influential G20 top where the 20 most powerful economies come together. THE .ORG is going to facilitate more informal influential meetings in the future dealing with the power of image. By collaborating, sharing expertise, the founder of THE .ORG believes that we can generate new answers to the dominant issues of our time.

(Photo made by Pim Trooster during G-5_nterselector meeting 25 February 2012)

External information comes from the following websites (Dutch):