Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled, [removed];Print on paper, endless copies. Edition of 1, 1. AP. Private collection, courtesy of Andrea Rosen Gallery. Photo credit: Alexander Wolf, courtesy of Shimmer, Rotterdam.
Current ABA resident Eloise Sweetman will be hosting a feedback session this Friday, all welcome to join!
15 November at 17:00 ABA Office, Friedrichstraße 23a Berlin, 10969
The feedback session will be 1 hour long with 20 minutes of presentation and the rest of conversation and feedback.
The session will be held in English. Soup is included!
Of the session Eloise writes: I am researching the exhibition space as an ephemeral one, as a site that slowly builds and dissipates over time. The research is inspired by Dr. Camilla Murgia, who in her book “Ephemeral Spectacles, Exhibition Spaces and Museums 1750‒1918”, writes: “Particular attention is paid here to the versatile and changing character of ephemerality, both with regard to time and spatiality: indeed, these displays constantly adjusted according to the political, cultural, and social environment that they were confronted with.” Building upon this definition of ephemerality, my research explores how and when artworks change form to adjust to the conditions housing them and how they change the structure of the exhibition itself. This can be found in the work of Charlotte Posenenske’s DW series, where her sculptures “merge” into the exhibition architecture, as well as the shifting ground of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s candy works and stack works, which are taken and distributed into the world by the audience. What do these strategies of ephemerality and dispersal mean for the exhibition as a site as it begins to leave the traditional place of display? In the feedback session, I would like to share writing and questions I have around these ideas, and to receive thoughts, insights, queries, comments, and the like.
AIR SALON
hosted by Eloise Sweetman
[removed] Mhz Berlin, 19 November, 16:00
Still from Jailbreak by Damon Zucconi.
ABA Air Salon with Eloise Sweetman, featuring audio from artist Damon Zucconi’s work Jailbreak accompanied by Eloise’s text Not Knowing. Intimacy. A Door A Jar.
In addition to the Air Salon, the video work from Jailbreak will be on display from 15:00 19 November to 15:00 20 November at Haus der Statistik.
Throughout the radio show, you’ll hear the audio from Zucconi’s video piece Jailbreak, a shifting, shivering portrayal of a chandelier. Its lights flicker—on, off, then on again—capturing a sense of instability and incompleteness. This piece isn’t fully present on the screen; it exists both here and somewhere else. Overlaying the video are voices reading fragments of a text—unseen figures reaching out to someone distant and unreachable. Much like this broadcast, both the video and text enter the world with no fixed destination. They embody hope, intimacy, and a longing to pass through thresholds—to communicate, however uncertainly, across space.
Tune in to Colaboradio via Freies Radio Berlin/Brandenburg 88,4 MHz in Berlin 90,7 MHz in Potsdam or listen online here.
Currently
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Ruins of Belarus Uladzimir Hramovich
uqbar | 9–28 November
The exhibition Ruins of Belarus opened last week in uqbar. The exhibition will be on view until 28 November, 12:00–18:00 and we invite you take part in the exhibition public program over the course of this [removed];
PUBLIC PROGRAM
14 November, 17:00 Exhibition Tour in Belarusian with Uladzimir Hramovich &Lesia Pcholka / VEHA archive
24 November, 14:00–18:00 Workshop by Daria Sazanovich The Soft Wisdom of our grannies: crocheting as a stress release [removed];Sign up here for the workshop.
28 November, 17:00 Exhibition tour in German with Uladzimir Hramovich & Katharina von Hagenow
In his artistic work, Uladzimir Hramovich focuses on political movements and architecture in relation to their inherent history. His work is based on documentary material and complemented by subjective [removed];Forced into exile, the Berlin-based artist is now cut off from the sources in Belarus. For the VEHA archive, Hramovich bought photographs on eBay of Belarusian monuments and their deterioration during the German occupation. In the exhibition Ruins of Belarus, he combines these images with other objects and attributes of power claimed by the current regime in Belarus. By manipulating them, Hramovich creates a critical reinterpretation and offers an alternative perspective to the hegemonic, centralized historiography
After the exhibition, the images will be integrated into the collection of the independent VEHA archive. In the face of the horrific destruction in the neighbouring country, VEHA focuses on the destroyed architecture, villages and cities in Belarus that have fallen victim to war, modernisation, repression and the contempt of the current regime.
To find out more about the project and visit our website.
Recently
BOOKSTOP
Sense of Safety KO-Markt at HdS | 9 November
Capture from the livestream at Bookstop
On 9 November, during KO-Markt at Haus der Statistik, ABA Bookstop hosted a livestream of the Sense of Safety exhibtion currently shown in the YermilovCentre, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Sense of Safety: Raising funds for the creation of barrier-free infrastructure in the Yermilov Centre, Kharkiv, Ukraine Make Your Donation here.
Within the framework of the international art project Sense of Safety at the urgent request of our partner – CCA YermilovCentre, we: [removed] & Ambasada Kultury announce the fundraising for the creation of barrier-free space for YermilovCentre – the purchase of two universal stair elevators on a caterpillar, the construction of ramps, vertical elevators, the re-equipment of restrooms. The sum of 15000 EUR
“Since its opening, back in 2012, the team of the YermilovCentre has understood the need for barrier-free art space.
CCA YermilovCentre belongs to the structure of the Kharkiv National University named after V. N. Karazin, and higher educational institutions are, for the most part, not new buildings. The situation with barrier-free accessibility of Ukrainian and, in particular, Kharkiv educational institutions was difficult even before the full-scale war. However, now the reality is that there will be more people with disabilities or certain injuries resulting from fighting, shelling, etc. Barrier-free is our new societal norm and part of public policy, and we are committed to ensuring that all our visitors feel comfortable and convenient, without barriers.
It is important that with the start of the full-scale invasion, the YermilovCentre is not only a center for contemporary art and a venue for cultural events, but also a shelter. That’s why it’s so important for us to make the Centre an accessible space in every [removed]#8221;
Natalia Ivanova, Director of YermilovCentre, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Onur H. Karaoğlu produces works in performance, video and theatre. Since 2010, his original and adapted writing and directing pieces have been commissioned and presented by festivals and institutions such as Wiener Festwochen, Dancing On The Edge, Media Art Xplarotion and Volksbühne. His performance and video works were showcased at Bahar (Sharjah Biennial 2017), SPOT, Operation Room and Protocinema. He is one of the founding members of Studio 4 Istanbul, producing theatre, film works and performance space KÖŞE in Yeldeğirmeni, which later became an international performance festival. Between 2014 and 2019, he was the director of Orhan Pamuk’s Museum of Innocence in Istanbul. Karaoğlu teaches classes on performance at Boğaziçi and Koç University. He holds a BA in Sociology from Boğaziçi University and an MFA in Theater Directing from Columbia University in The City Of New York.
Residency period: Oct – Nov 2024 Supported by STRÜKTÜR [removed]
Lysann König (*1986 Zwickau) lives and works in Basel as an artist, musician and curator. She is part of the KASKO-Team since 2021, a project space for contemporary art, performance and mediation in Basel, and co-founder of ∑ SUMME, a networking platform and biennale event for artist-run-spaces and projectspaces in Basel. Since her bachelor‘s degree in 2012 at the Institut Kunst in Basel, she has been part of various collectives, including Dr. Kuckucks Labrador and who writes his_tory?
Her main media are video and performance. König‘s work is based on post-capitalist critique and the search for new ways of artistic and social collaboration. Her works are mostly created through teamwork with people from different disciplines. The idea of remix culture is deeply rooted in her practice. The roles that König takes on in her works are as changeable as the media she uses – be it video, performance, installation or music.
Residency period: Sep 2024–Feb 2025 Supported by Pro Helvetia.
Eloise is Rotterdam-based curator originally from Western Australia. Her curatorial practice is guided by a philosophy of “lingering”—a deliberate, slow engagement with art that unfolds over time and space. This method is influenced by philosopher Byung-Chul Han’s concept of “de-distancing,” which refers to the process of getting closer to one’s surroundings and creating a sense of intimacy. In her exhibitions, Eloise seeks to create space for artists and audiences alike to engage deeply with the works on display, allowing meaning to remain open and fluid.
Sweetman’s curatorial projects have included collaborations with internationally renowned artists such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Etel Adnan, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and many others. In 2021, she co-edited Curatorial Feelings with Jo-ey Tang, a collection of texts on curating and collaboration. She is also the co-founder and co-director of Shimmer, a curatorial studio in Rotterdam that operates with a “studio-like mentality,” emphasizing participation and experimentation in contemporary art. In addition to her independent projects, Eloise teaches and lectures at institutions such as the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Van Eyck Academie, and University of Amsterdam. Her podcast, I Hope This Message Finds You Well, co-hosted with Kris Dittel, offers candid discussions on curating, featuring insights from colleagues across the world
Residency period: Sep–Dec 2024 Supported by Mondriaan Funds.