Lost in Space

Press release in English

In October 2013 KUNO – a network comprising 16 Nordic-Baltic fine art academies, aiming to become an art university without walls – will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Every year the network organizes a teachers seminar which welcomes faculty members from the KUNO academies and other institutions to face crucial questions in teaching art. This year's jubilant seminar will take place at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. Along with the seminar a student works exhibition Lost in Space will be held at Vita Havet, the main gallery of Konstfack.

The exhibition dealing with art academies' galleries is curated by Gregor Taul, curator of the EKA G gallery at the Estonian Academy of Arts. Taul was invited to curate this exhibition by KUNO steering group in January 2013 upon presenting his project idea of creating a platform for discussing the role of exhibitions within the art academies.

Lost in Space is inspired by an enquiry about art academies’ galleries in Europe. One would think of these galleries as an integral part of art education, but what do they actually stand for? As a matter of fact they form a chaotic sphere of white cubes, project spaces, foyers, corridors, garages and further “other spaces” run in completely different ways, whether by faculty members, students, curators, gallerists, technicians etc. Although contemporary art has lately experienced excessive research about its educational aspects, student galleries have been strangely over-looked in the academic field. Lost in Space aimes to fill this space.

This exhibition focuses on students for whom a critical take on any given concept forms an elemental trigger point for action as an artist. Lost in Space is about artworks posing fundamental questions on art education and the credibility of the art academy as such. However, the curator has kept in mind the two-fold perspective of tradition: next to dismantling one will always find constructive arrangement of ideas.

Bearing in mind that Lost in Space will be a collaborative analysis of exhibition spaces, a week-long workshop will accompany the show. During these seven days the participants will form an informal roundtable for discussing various aspects relating to the art academies' galleries and their relation to the art world.

A plentiful catalogue functioning as an exhibition guide will supplement the exhibition. Along the forewords by the curator and Riikka Stewen, The Professor of Art History and Art Theory at Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, each of the participants will contribute with either interviews, statements, fiction or manifests about their intents within the exhibition. The catalogue has been edited and designed as an independent magazine which will expectantly lead its afterlife around the independent bookstores in Europe.

Participants:

Bergen Academy of Art and Design:
Helene Forde, Johnny Herbert, Gallery Bokboden (Philipp Bastian von Hase and Maria Jonsson)

Estonian Academy of Arts:
Kristina Õllek

Finnish Academy of Fine Arts:
Jussi Koitela (in collaboration with Tuukka Haapakorpi, Saara Hannus, Maarit Mustonen, Megan Snowe and Johannes Vartola)

Funen Art Academy:
Kristian B Johansson

Iceland Academy of the Arts:
Artclick Daily (Ívar Glói Gunnarsson and Brynjar Helgason)

Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design:

Anna Ihle, CASEY PRICE

Latvian Art Academy:
Ieva Kraule

Malmö Art Academy:
Jóhan Martin Christiansen

Oslo National Academy of the Arts:
Solveig Lonseth, Endre Mathistad

Royal Institute of Art:
Samantha Louise Michel, Pablo Sacristan, Gabriel Säll

The Jutland Art Academy:
Kristian Schrøder, Ida Retz Wessberg

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts:
Pia Eikaas and Lucas Wichmann Melkane

Trondheim Academy of Fine Art:
Finn Adrian Jorkjen, Gallery Blunk (Lisa Edetun, Sindre Hustveit)

Umeå Academy of Fine Arts:
Gallery Maskinen (Mark Frygell, Jonas Gazell, Jonas Westlund)

Valand Academy:
Rickard Ljungdahl Eklund

Vilnius Academy of Arts:
Augustas Serapinas

Designer of the catalogue:

Epp Õlekõrs