Nora-Swantje Almes

Conference Report. November 2023

Art institutions should be places of complex thought and rage – Marian Pastor Roces’s words written down in my notebook followed me home to Bergen, Norway. For me, CIMAM 2023, hosted in Buenos Aires, was a dense journey of intellectual, tangible, and at times emotional insight into the brilliant and inspirational work of my colleagues. As a travel grantee, the Conference was a powerful first touching point with CIMAM and its community. On the first day, Chus Martínez used the analogy of fish schools and bird swarms to describe the relationality and impact of collectivity at a time where art institutions are perceived as “agents of change.” The idea of being an individual in a collective that actually can make a difference carried me through the three days. A sense of togetherness, and the strong ambition to advance museum and curatorial practices in collective efforts was present at all times. Particularly as a younger colleague, I was struck by the enormous generosity of the speakers and other attendees who shared ideas, projects, and contacts – as well as CIMAM as an organization and arts communities of Buenos Aires.

I enjoyed the 20-minute speaker format, which was concluded by a panel elaborating on key questions. The topic The Co-Creative Museum: Social Agency, Ethics, and Heritage was approached from a variety of positionalities, yet with apparent reoccurring aspects. There were take-aways from each presentation for me that resonated with my practice: Elvira Espejo Ayca spoke about turning away from objects towards subjects, the embracing of plurality, and portable museums, bringing them closer to the communities they seek to serve. Locality was a trope that came up frequently. “See yourself as the center,” argued Simon Njami. Working from Bergen, Norway, the relationship between the center and periphery, the local and the international, is very present in my work and ongoing questions to negotiate. Similarly relevant was teresa cisneros’s call to practice relationality introducing the steps to work together with staff, including a developed social justice curriculum in order to do “change work.” The idea of dismantling and reconstructing systems simultaneously stuck with me. Locality also played a role in Marie Hélène Pereira’s talk on RAW Material Company and their combined approach of being a community-driven art space as well as taking on the responsibility of curatorial education. Lastly, I want to highlight the work presented by María Belén Correa and Sidhi Vhisatya, who are both driving forces collecting trans and queer, neglected and often erased, histories in their respective contexts. As a curator who works with queer methodologies, these contributions stood out for me, and it felt affirming to see them included in the Conference program.

Rather than spending the full days in the auditorium with our excellent CIMAM hosts at the Museo Moderno Buenos Aires, I welcomed the organized tours in small groups in the afternoon to galleries, artist studios, and other museums, getting a sense of the city of Buenos Aires. It was also a great way to meet colleagues in an informal setting. I particularly enjoyed the visit to Pulpería Mutuálica – an artist-run space for “experiences, knowledge, and multiple methods.” The rolling map of Argentinian Contemporary Art that the Museo Moderno put together on the occasion of CIMAM 2023 was a helpful tool to navigate the city and encounter galleries and meet artists outside of the conference days.

I left CIMAM feeling energized. The speakers and encounters I had motivated me to continue to develop my practice further with many new insights. I loved that many of the contributors were speaking from contexts with which I was previously not familiar. The step away from the day-to-day institutional work enabled a macro perspective on my curatorial responsibility. It gave new input on how I can continue to open up spaces in institutions for communities and difficult questions. It encouraged me to continue to be brave in my curatorial choices and work methods. To close with Ana Gallardo’s words: Even if people do not want to see, we put it right in front of them.

BIO

I am curator and writer, based in Bergen, Norway, where I work as the live programme curator at Bergen Kunsthall whilst also engaging in independent projects. My research explores topics of intersectionality, queerness and gatherings as a performative format for platforming a multiplicity of voices. In 2019, I graduated from the MFA Curating at Goldsmiths College, University of London with the thesis ‘What are the possibilities of queering art institutions?’ which has been formative for my curatorial practice and research interest in institution-building. Ideas of queering and performative practices sit in opposition to the operations of a conventional art institution: unpredictable, in flux and improvised. How can these aspects be structurally implemented in 21st century museums?

In 2019, I took on the role of the assistant curator at Glasgow International. Independently, I co-curated the performative exhibitions ‘Aggregates’ at Ausstellungsraum Klingental Basel (2021) and ‘love and other rhythms’ at Kunsthalle Exnergasse Vienna (2021, incl. Raju Rage & Jessie Darling a.o.) and curated the exhibition series ‘What’s good for me is good for you? A physical multilogue’ (2018, incl. Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, a.o.) at Mimosa House London. I previously held positions at Participant INC. New York City, Chisenhale Art Place, Art Angel London and Schinkel Pavillon Berlin. I am a founding member of the curatorial collective TWTMC which focuses on interdisciplinary projects around hybrid identities - our collective’s ongoing conversations continue to inform my practice.

Throughout my career and now in Bergen, I have initiated interdisciplinary curatorial projects with a strong focus on live elements, performance and critical discourse around gender, queerness and decolonial practices. At Bergen Kunsthall, I curated the live programme strand ‘Knowing We Won’t Have Each Other Forever’ in 2022. It centred queer realities and ideas of the ephemeral exploring possibilities of alternative world-making through movement and live practices. To move, to dance, to flounder is to shake off labels - challenging viewers’ expectations and presumptions of straight linear narratives. Starting off with a performative boat ride titled ‘Cruising Utopia’ after José Esteban Munoz, it also included immersive performances of ‘Echoic Choir’ by Stine Janvin & Ula Sickle and ‘Dykegeist’ by Eve Stainton, presented in the galleries. For 2023, I am working with UK-artist SERAFINE1369 on a large-scale live exhibition opening in August and their first monographic publication. In addition, I have initiated and oversee the newly established Live Studio at Bergen Kunsthall - a research and development space for performative practices. The Live Studio is a unique production model that is integrated in the institution and connected to discourses, bridging institutional learning and artistic practice. In 2023, we are able to accommodate a total of 15 artist stays. A third of invitees are Bergen-based artists to anchor the studio locally, whilst we also have collaborations with ICA London, WIELS Brussels, Montag Modus Berlin and Kunstraum Niederösterreich Vienna for international co-productions.

Besides my institutional practice, I continue to be active as an independent curator. I am currently in the process of developing a curriculum for a Curatorial Intensive with my collaborator Loren Elhili in Marrakech to foster curatorial exchange as well as preparing an exhibition for the Julius Koller Society in Bratislava, Slovakia, due to open in January 2024.