Crit Club and KASKlecture with Cem A

Do you feel stuck between the binary of praise and non-engagement that is endemic to the art world? Do you feel provoked by the increased hesitance for art and art institutions to inhabit spaces of disagreement? If so, the Crit Club is for YOU!

Crit Club is a performance by Cem A. that aims to challenge criticality by bringing together artists and art workers to debate an unrealistic question about art. In the context of this performance, participants are humorously invited to engage in what could be termed a contextual performance—a departure from their usual roles as artists or curators, aimed at broadening their perspectives and bolstering their influence within their community. As the performance progresses, guests are challenged to navigate uncharted waters through roleplay and quick thinking, grappling with existential inquiries such as: Does their expertise illuminate the issue at hand, or does it falter in the face of adversity? Can they uphold their understanding of art world dynamics in a doomsday scenario? Do they embrace the given scenario, or do they seek to defy the confines imposed by the moderator?

By proposing an impossible-to-answer question, Crit Club creates a situation where ostensibly there’s nothing at stake – or so it seems. For this edition of the Crit Club organized by the Curatorial Studies postgraduate programme at KASK in conjunction with KIOSK, we will take the 2024 Harper’s Magazine essay titled The Painted Protest: How Politics Killed Contemporary Art by critic Dean Kissick as a point of departure to debate contemporary art, identity and our political moment.

Interested in taking part? Please register for participation via the link below. There are only 14 spots available. The Crit Club is a participatory experience. Though only up to 12 people are required for to sit at the debate tables (six participants per debate), the ‘audience’ will not be a passive member either.

Crit Club will be the first of three engagements by artist Cem A. at KASK and will be followed by studio visits with MA students as well as a KASKlezing lecture on Thursday 30th of January, 7pm, in auditorium Cirque on the Bijloke campus.

Biography

Cem A. is an artist with a background in anthropology. He is known for running the art meme page @freeze_magazine and for his site-specific installations. His work explores themes such as virality and performativity, often through collaborative projects. Cem A.’s selected solo exhibitions and interventions include Barbican Centre, ZKM Karlsruhe, Berlinische Galerie, Louisiana Museum, Künstlerhaus Bethanien and Museum Wiesbaden. His work was also included in documenta fifteen, Istanbul Modern, Mudam Luxembourg, Klima Biennale Vienna and 14. Biennial of Young Artists, Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje. He has held lectures at Royal College of Art London, HEAD Geneva, HDK Valand and Universität der Künste Berlin.