Welcome
Zderzak|welcome|talk|poland|performance|Krakow|gift|generosity|exchange|director
Commissioned by Adam Budak and Marta Tarabula to coincide with the international conference on contemporary curatorial practice, Polyphony of Voices in Krakow.
21 Oct 2002 - 23 Oct 2002
Galeria Zderzak, Krakow Poland
Galeria Zderzak is one of the first ‘commercial’ galleries to grow outside of the state funded system of patronage in Poland. While researching the gallery through its archives, we found video evidence that the director Marta Tarabula had been welcoming visitors and introducing artists at every exhibition opening since 1985.
We edited every welcome together, and this video loop played for the duration of the project; endlessly introducing artists, and welcoming each visitor.
At the projects inauguration, we in turn were introduced and thanked, and the audience welcomed by Marta.
Welcome makes explicit the exchange of obligations between a gallerist, the artist invited to exhibit, and an audience. Although in this instance, we declined the invitation of being promoted by the gallery, and instead Welcome uses the opportunity to assist gallery Zderzak through representing the gallerist Marta Tarabula.
The Polyphony of Voices international conference organized by the Bunkier Sztuki Contemporary Art Gallery in Kraków focused on the problematics of contemporary curatorial practices. One of the conceits of the conference was that each panel made from international curators, would be curated by artists. With contributions from Elmgreen & Dragset, Marysia Lewandowska/Neil Cummings, Andrea Fraser, Azorro Group, Christian Jankowski and Mariola Brillowska.
Andre Fraser's remarks on the conference