"March 14 through March 28, 2007
The List is a project by artist Banu Cennetoglu and curator Huib Haye van der Werf, produced by Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Art in Public Space Foundation (SKOR), SMCS on 11, United, Maison Descartes - Institut Francais des Pays-Bas and Idea Books. The List is made possible in part by the American Center Foundation.
Description
The List is a document which contains the names of more than 7000 (known) refugees who died within, or on, the borders of Europe. It is being compiled by UNITED for Intercultural Action - a non-profit organisation composed of a network of more than 560 organisations from 49 different countries (www.unitedagainstracism.org).
For this project the List will be displayed as a poster campaign in 110 MUPI’s - outdoor advertising signs- throughout the city of Amsterdam for the duration of two weeks, March 14 - March 28, 2007. The poster campaign will not be commercially designed or contain any advertising, but only contain the List itself.
The project will commence with a seminar held at SMCS on 11, in which an international group of artists, filmmakers, photographers and academics will present work in the context of the list.
Throughout the week an information center will be made available to the public at SKOR’s INkijk, in the center of Amsterdam. Here supplementary information about the ‘Death List’ and the many other international initiatives dealing with the issues of Europe being a fortress and the fate of refugees will be made available to the public.
The purpose of this project is to confront a general audience with this crucial document by making it visible within the public sphere. The urgency to do so lies in the consistent portrayal of Europe having an ‘inside’ and an ‘outside’. The representation of Europe as a fortress - through political discourse and therefore news agencies - leads to singular notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’. However, we are at a moment where the borders of Europe are in a process of redefinition and where what is external (of) today can be internal (of) tomorrow. Rather than portray Europe as an enclosed and limited entity, one could consider embracing the uncertainty of its boundaries as something positive and unlimited.
The List as it is proposed here, however, is not merely meant as a socio-political project, but also as an experiment in exploring the borders and the scope of artistic practise. From this, it seeks out the limits of critical potential of the ‘cultural institute’ as well. What role can art play in the discussion on - and depiction of - Fortress Europe and migration? From what position can it do so?"
For further information please check the link.
