Situation 6. The wall

The sixth edition of (creating) Situations will have an intensive format of 8 sessions during the first two weeks of July.

In Situation 6. The wall, there will be a dialogue with the exhibition cycle that will take place at the Santa Mònica during the summer of 2024, which this time explores the prison as a suspended territory and space, a place where reflections on the past and fantasies about the future come to the surface. The course programme has been conceived to reflect collectively on the experience of closure, not only in prisons but also in other situations currently experienced as deprivation of liberty.

What does one do when faced with a fence, a fence, a barbed wire, a border that one wishes to cross but cannot? Both the imaginary and the violent reality of the wall, which separates certain human groups and blocks access to the other side, play an increasingly relevant role in a world that celebrates the lack of limits and encourages an uncontrolled fluidity of connections. This apparent paradox expresses the complex dynamics of contemporary life, when networks penetrate (almost) all walls. It is no coincidence that the most emblematic device of the 21st century is the mobile phone, a machine that stimulates contact with ever-increasing numbers of people, while allowing an unprecedented degree of individual isolation. What is it to be free today?

Programme

To explore these questions, among others, we will convene the team involved in the realisation of the exhibition cycle and develop reflections with guest researchers to enrich the debate and propose activities aligned with the city's cultural agenda:

• Meeting sessions with the curatorial and artistic team: in these sessions, we will discuss the curatorial processes of participatory creation that took place both during the conception and the deployment of the exhibition cycle Màquines del temps (27.06 - 08.09.2024), with the participation of Mery Cuesta (curator of the cycle), Antoni Hervàs (artist of the cycle) and Enric Puig Punyet (director of the Santa Mònica).
• Collective reflection workshop sessions: these sessions will present different aspects of the issues proposed in the programme, with the participation of interdisciplinary researchers and essayists such as Paula Sibilia (host of (creating) Situations 6), Estela Schindel (university researcher) and Christian Ferrer (sociologist and essayist).
• Cultural agenda: with the aim of this course to situate itself in the cultural context of the city, the programme will include sessions in dialogue with related proposals from other Barcelona facilities run by Graf, such as a visit to the La Modelo penitentiary centre.

Who is t for?
 

The course is designed for people looking for both a practical and theoretical introduction to collective curatorial practices. (creating) Situations uncovers the processes and inner workings behind the curatorship of an exhibition at Santa Mònica with the aim of activating temporary research and learning communities, as well as contributing to artistic, curatorial or theoretical careers.

Places are limited. For this reason, Santa Mònica will select participants on the basis of the letter of motivation provided. There is no age or previous qualification requirement, but profiles with a certain vital, academic or professional background that can contribute their experience to the rest of the group are valued.