with POPPOSITIONS
POPPOSITIONS 2015, Exhibition view. © POPPOSITIONS.
Let’s start with the structure of POPPOSITIONS fair itself, which is positioned as a counter to mainstream art fairs. Can you tell us a bit about how this alternative market functions?
POPPOSITIONS: When POPPOSITIONS was conceived, the idea was really to set up a platform for the very young galleries – at the time only nomadic ones that could not apply to regular fairs – and for fragile non-profit structures, and enable them to find a marketplace (everything is for sale but looks like an exhibition) for garage art. The whole fair – which we prefer to call an assembly – was conceived as an experiment with the art fair format: no white cubes, only solo-shows assembled by a curator under a theme, an itinerant event highlighting a different and special historical building in Brussels each year.
It has now taken the shape of a curated exhibition and an ongoing critical dialogue and collectively emphasises matters of shared concern, rather than business as usual. We believe that by creating a quality show for sale, it will trigger an interesting market outcome for our exhibitors. Thus, rather than creating an alternative market, we are positioning ourselves differently within the market. POPPOSITIONS plays with the thin line between an art fair and a curated exhibition, where the discourse, the curation and the scenography are of high importance. POPPOSITIONS presents not solely commercial galleries but invites various types of structures, even art centers and museums along with other project spaces, curators’ or artists’ initiatives in a heterogeneous ratio.
What are some of the challenges – for instance, in negotiating the interests of independent and non-profit initiatives alongside those of commercial galleries?
For the first time, we will build some walls, but rest assured: no white cubes.
POPPOSITIONS offers a platform. We do not discriminate based on the state or type of participants; the price is the same for everyone. Young commercial galleries who do not benefit from public support are often weaker than non-profit. Regarding the latter, it is up to them if they wish to sell to support the artists and re-introduce the money in the production of new shows. Other fairs put the non-profit apart in a less attractive spot and in this way give them less commercial exposure.
We believe that at this stage of their career, young artists do not always have the opportunity to be shown at fairs and thus to reach collectors and curators. We are now the only side-fair remaining during this period, which is very positive for POPPOSITIONS and shows that today, more than ever, the concept of our fair is highly relevant and welcomes to each new edition both a loyal and a new public of collectors, art professionals, journalists and art aficionados.
Considering the difficulties emerging structures are encountering at the moment, we are confident that our model, which we constantly adapt to the evolution of the art market, is an effective answer to the current market and art field. Our low participation fee, combined with our excellent network and a team of professionals and advisors, supported by volunteers, enables galleries and non-profit organisations to meet new relevant contacts and present themselves without taking too much financial risk.
This will be the fair’s 8th edition. What are some of the major developments that POPPOSITIONS has experienced over the course of its run?
After seven years, POPPOSITIONS has become the leading critical fair for contemporary art and has proven its international influence by serving as the main inspiration for emerging critical fairs in Cologne, Turin and Madrid. The unanimous, shared feeling from participants, visitors, and organisers alike is that POPPOSITIONS has greatly improved its professionalism and confirmed that it remains, now more than ever, relevant during the Brussels fair week, but also as a concrete alternative within the art market.
POPPOSITIONS has increased its visibility and attendance every year and this year promises to be no exception, as it has become a hotspot for all types of art collectors, curators and art aficionado’s from all over the world. Our level of attendance has really increased and we now receive world class collectors, which we did not have at the beginning, being more of a platform amongst peers.
For this edition, POPPOSITIONS invited artist and scenographer Mathias Prenen to conceive the scenography. For the first time, we will build some walls, but rest assured: no white cubes. Mathias Prenen approaches ideas on gallery walls, pedestals, fair booths, film sets and theater halls through the concepts of Edo-period tea-house design, early modernist architecture and sculptural avant-garde methodology. Prenen strives to heighten people’s experiences by creating spaces that encourage mental openness and mitigate difference.
Grace Ndiritu, Coverslut. © Grace Ndiritu.
What about this year’s curatorial framework: wokeness in the context of capitalist structures – what kinds of projects and initiatives will be addressing this topical theme? Can you give examples of the ways in which it will be approached?
The range of subjects addressed under the programmatic heading of “woke” is wide,
for the right reasons. The reason for this is that becoming woke is the process of
consciousness raising about one’s place in a scheme of things, of rendering oneself
sensible and attentive to these subjects – and that differs from person to person. Our
angle is to specifically work with the idea that advanced capitalism has assimilated
most of these ideologies – say, for instance, feminism – and numbs them on the level of
content and decisiveness as lifestyle attributes for consumers. We think it of utter
importance to address and reclaim that territory, and seek out ways to defy being
indexed on the vectors of advanced capitalism. As an assembly that is our strength:
the collective address and seizing momentum.
Some examples:
1 – We will host Manoeuvre Kunstenplek from Ghent, with artist Grace Ndiritu with the project Coverslut © . “COVERSLUT© is a fashion and economic research project launched in 2018 by Grace Ndiritu, which focuses on dealing with issues of race, gender and class politics. It incorporates Pay What You Can into its economic framework.”
2 – SUPERDEALS from Brussels will host the artistic project Ecole Mondiale; “Being woke, let alone becoming woke, is not easy at all, otherwise it would hardly be a topic worth exploring. Becoming woke is not simply an issue of being more educated or having more information. In addition to empathy, ‘wokeness’ requires people to envision a better world, explore unfamiliar situations, and recognize that people connect to the world differently. On this level, ameliorative art practices play an important role since they offer strategies for relaxing, listening, and being more observant, so that people can imagine other people’s situations.”
What does it mean nowadays to be woke when the
term suffers from overuse?
3 – The fridge from Bulgaria will host artist Voin de Voin. “The project concerns a study of the current geo-political negative effects on the human being and the state of consciousness. It takes on the speculations surrounding the tetrad of consecutive ‘blood moons’ (full lunar eclipses) in 2014 and 2015 and the Apocalypse as foretold by the ancient prophets, building on commonly held notions, languages, visual and narrative clichés to introduce the theory of the advent of the post-apocalyptic Mental Age – a state of Woke. Asking the question: has the Apocalypse already happened and might we have failed to register it? In a postmodern, post-nuclear, post-human, post-Internet era, I find myself, as an alive being, entrapped in various codes, psychic dilution and ‘catastrophobias’.”
4 – We are also pleased to host the project Colonial Cocktails by artist Alejandro Céron, who will be part of the public programme with his installation. “Colonialism kicked off with the first transoceanic ships moving subjects and objects across the oceans. Modernity is deeply based and supported by institutions, some of which date back from colonial times. The transoceanic logistical infrastructure fuels a market that perpetuates colonial capitalist dynamics of expansion, exploitation and extraction. Colonial Cocktails is a performative installation that mimics a market structure. The artworks produced within the installation can be ordered, purchased and drunk. The installation finances itself and the artist’s labor. While privilege and struggle are pervasive, the production/consumption mantra succeeded to colonise human logic. Has racial capitalist logic colonised every aspect of human existence?”
In what ways does POPPOSITIONS itself, as an alternative art fair, seek to act against the mainstream popularity and trendiness of such terms in order to work towards engaging critical perspectives?
POPPOSITIONS is not exactly an alternative fair in itself. We offer alternatives – an alternative way of presenting art in the context of an art fair for instance – but this doesn’t make us alternative; there is a slight difference. Also, what does alternative mean? This word is indeed overused in the contemporary art sector as in any other (e.g., in fashion or music) and this has emptied the term of its meaning, which nowadays lacks precision and definition. That’s also where we can draw a parallel with the curatorial framework. What does it mean nowadays to be woke when the term suffers from overuse?
In this context, the role of POPPOSITIONS is to constantly redefine what it means to offer alternatives. We do so by constantly adapting, innovating and selecting artistic proposals that are indubitable examples of freshness in this context. In the end, this was also a consideration for our new graphic identity, which was developed keeping in mind this idea of constant movement, adaptation and proposals for new approaches.
POPPOSITIONS aims at stimulating discussions and encouraging dialogue between visitors, exhibitors and other stakeholders. The Public Programme is meant to extend the exhibition programme to a curated selection of events on site – such as performances, conferences, concerts, round tables but also the bookshop, café and restaurants. The high attendance for each event shows us each year that building a strong programme in parallel with the exhibition is crucial to engage critical perspectives and stimulate discourse.
Le Centre Tour à Plomb-Hageltoren. © Georges De Kinder.
POPPOSITIONS also moves around for each iteration. Can you say something about this year’s venue – Le Centre Tour à Plomb-Hageltoren – and how it will be used, possibly thematically, in the presentation (i.e. site-specific works)?
POPPOSITIONS changes location each year, indeed. Well, firstly, it is the core of POPPOSITIONS’s identity, which evokes the idea of popping up in different venues. We keep the visitors surprised and interested. It is also an interesting challenge for our participants. We intend to activate different neighborhoods of the city, to propose a short-term event in order to bring a new form of life into the district. Also, we cherish the idea of being integrated and active within the neighborhood by working closely with the stakeholders, associations, restaurants, etc. from the neighborhood, and also of reinforcing our offline communication in the area.
This year’s edition will take place in Le Centre Tour à Plomb-Hageltoren, in the Anneessens district in the heart of Brussels. A former gun powder factory, this year’s venue forms an important part of Belgium’s cultural heritage, which just opened as a cultural center.
Therefore, we needed a scenography that would lead the participants away from the existing architecture and enable a conversation at the same time. This was in direct line with the scenographic methodology of artist Mathias Prenen. He reintroduces already existing elements from precedent scenographic interventions into the new structures, informed by the needs of participants and building specificities. The structures therefore revolve around the same proportions and colors, literally hovering between architecture, furniture and sculpture. These inclusive host structures intend to mitigate difference, exercise generosity and induce inclusive ideology for guest and spectator. The belief is that, if these ideas are introduced at an institutional and organisational level, they will be reflected in the reciprocity of the presented projects.
We’re curious about the new visual identity. Can you tell us more about the new design concept and how the change came about?
It all began with this sentence, “Your identity is a whole extended universe”, from Christelle Bonnet, our Graphic/Web designer, of LPDLS No Time No Life. Extended in time, in space, extended in each year’s changing location, proposals, exhibitors, and public programme. Extended, therefore, in the artistic direction of each edition. And for POPPOSITIONS, it’s a universe that has now been extended for over seven years. The use of Univers Extended font is indubitably an echo of all these intentions. The brutalist and conceptual approach of Christelle Bonnet’s design reflects the spirit of POPPOSITIONS and remains, just like the artistic direction, in constant movement.
The new graphic identity will remain for the coming years as a departure point for the new artistic direction of each edition of POPPOSITIONS. Christelle opted for a black background to radically change from the usual white, slick designs of art fairs, as an extension of the white cube. The design of the title of each future edition will be subject to change, in relation to the framework and the artistic direction. For this edition, Christelle chose to use the font Perpetua (in an echo of perpetuate: ‘to cause something to continue’), used in capitals with a white outline and shadow, to underline the inclusiveness and critical approach POPPOSITIONS undertakes each edition.
POPPOSITIONS
Capital of Woke
25. – 28. april 2019
at Le Centre Tour à Plomb–Hageltoren
Slachthuisstraat 20–26 Rue de l’Abattoir, 1000 Brussels