Sebastian Vidal Mackinson
Conference Report. November 2023
Receiving the ArtHaus CIMAM 2023 grant was a rewarding, intense, and stimulating experience. As an Argentinean living in Buenos Aires, it was the first time I attended one of these meetings and I would definitely do it again.
The sessions and panelists were in some cases correct, in others brilliant. I found that the participation of Elvira Espejo Ayca, Marian Pastor Roces, Simon Njami, and María Belén Correa stood out from the rest in terms of the content and articulation of their presentations. They were sensitive and provocative and were rooted in the development of situated thinking that demonstrated density, complexity, and manageability. They helped me to continue thinking about the role of the museum in the current critical context. Chus Martínez, on the other hand, was exquisite and intelligent, and provocative in her role as moderator of the first session.
Beyond these presentations, the rest seemed to me to be correct. I found their contents familiar ground, even though they were professionally presented.
On the other hand, it was very stimulating to have met friends from other parts of the world and to have the possibility to meet interesting people and professionals. Engaging in dialogues with curators from Latin American countries who live and work in Europe, or meeting directors of institutions I admire, was a stimulating experience. There were many opportunities to talk about different topics and interests raised by the presentations, as well as those related to the topic of research in my doctorate and exhibitions.
I found the organization of the event to be impeccable. In spite of proposing a strenuous agenda, its management helped foreign professionals to be part of CIMAM, while getting to know some aspects of the Buenos Aires art scene. The moments of more relaxed meetings worked very well, allowing for rest and encounters with other agents from around the world.
Finally, I would like to emphasize what happened in the last session in response to the question posed by an Argentinean curator, art historian, and researcher living abroad. Unfortunately, there has been a strategic alliance between the party La Libertad Avanza (anarcho-capitalist, according to the definition of its own founder) and the Pro (ruling party in the City of Buenos Aires for the last 16 years). This union meant that the extreme right won and that a (so far) symbolic violence similar to that unleashed by Trump in the US or Bolsonaro in Brazil was discursively enabled in society.
In view of this, and given the framework or theme that brought us together in Buenos Aires in a public museum financed by contributions from the city's inhabitants, I would have liked the museum, as hosting and recognized institution, to have made an intelligent, pertinent, and situated statement, clarifying its position in such a critical situation as the one through which our country is going, especially when the theme that brought us together in CIMAM 2023 is urgent, more than ever, in our country.
Bio
After graduating from the Bachelor of Arts (FFyL -UBA) and pursuing a Master's degree in Visual Arts Curatorship (UNTREF), I am currently pursuing a PhD in History (EIDAES-UNSAM). Within this framework, I research the production of mid-generation Latin American artists who live and work in some European cities with a presence in the global circulation of culture. I study the operations they implement to negotiate the expectation of a possible essentiality of Latin American art by a foreign gaze that demands exoticism. This concern was born during a research stay as guest Latin American curator at the Georges Pompidou Center and has been embodied in international seminars (ICI-Jumex), exhibitions (Young Curator Award - Banco Ciudad arteBA; Hache Gallery) and presentations (ESEADE curatorial workshops, MACBA).