NEW! www adress

Föreningen JA! / The Yes! Association

Privilege Walk/Symposium - INVITATION

The YES! Association and Lilith Performance Studio proudly invites you to Privilege Walk/Symposium - Feminist and intersectional aspects on contemporary art

September 6-7 2008, Lilith Performance Studio, Malmö, Sweden

With the symposium Privilege Walk we want to create space for a deepened discussion about feminist and intersectional aspects on contemporary art, the notion of quality, representation and art production as a politicized situation. The purpose of the symposium is to learn how power is maintained through interacting power structures and examine efficient ways of dismantling those power structures.

We have chosen the title Privilege Walk to indicate that we want to problematize and criticize our own privileges. We wish to discuss, examine and re-articulate concepts such as sisterhood, patriarchy and solidarity. Our aim with the symposium is to point out a future direction.

The symposium is free of charge. The lectures, performance, film screening and film program is open to the public, no registration is needed.

The number of participants in the workshops is limited, therefore we ask you to register beforehand. Send an email to info@foreningenja.org with “Registration: workshop” as subject. Indicate first-, second- and third choice and your name and phone number. If you have registered participation in a workshop and are prevented from coming, please let us know so somebody else can take your place.

Map and directions to Lilith Performance Studio

Café Banjo will be present and sell lunch, coffee and snacks during the entire weekend.

The official language during the symposium will be English, but nobody needs to be an expert on this language to participate, we will help each other with translations as we go along.

We look forward to an interesting weekend with you!

Best wishes
Board of Directors of the YES! Association
Malin Arnell, Åsa Elzén, Johanna Gustavsson and Line S Karlström.
and co-workers for Privilege Walk
Marit Östberg, Camilla Backman and Anna Linder.

www.foreningenja.org
info@foreningenja.org

Privilege Walk is kindly supported by Stadsbidrag för kvinnors organisering och jämställdhetsprojekt, IASPIS, Malmö Kulturnämnd.

Lilith Performance Studio is kindly supported by Stiftelsen Framtidens kultur, Malmö kulturnämnd, Statens kulturråd, Folkuniversitetet, Kultur Skåne.
Sponsors: Beckers Färgservice, AV SYD AB, Svanströms Repro AB.

Privilege Walk/Symposium - PROGRAM

Saturday, September 6

10.00 Registration

10.30-11.00 Introduction
The YES! Association
Presentation of the YES! Association and the symposium

11.00-12.30 Lecture
Kuratorisk Aktion
Privileges Deconstructed: Curating Across the ‘North South White Colored Male Female Straight Queer Normal Abnormal Corporate Corporeal Individual State Subject Object’ Divide of Global Capitalism.
The collaborative Kuratorisk Aktion situates curatorial practice in relation to economic, social, and cultural divisions and hierarchies produced and preserved by the current capitalist world order. This is an introduction to their work.

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13.30-15.30 Workshops
Jeuno JE Kim (workshop 1)
How to Construct a Feminist Workshop That Doesn’t Fall Apart in 2 Hours – A performative lecture, a collective reading aloud, and conducting autointerviews.
A performative lecture leading into a collective reading aloud from a selection of Fredrich Nietzsche's aphorisms combined with sections from Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, dealing with the master-slave dialectics. The workshop will end with a session of ‘autointerviews’.

Victoria Kawesa (workshop 2)
Feminist transnational dialogues – White privileges and sisterhood.
Using transnational dialogues and understanding as starting points, questions regarding whiteness and sisterhood in relation to feminism are to be discussed. What does white privileges entail? What does feminist sisterhood entail? What are transnational dialogues in a globalised world?

Malin Arnell (workshop 3)
Not Cancelled Due to Rain. Interactions and re-valuation exercises in the context of Möllevångstorget.
The workshop will be about action and interactions, it will deal with our experiences and different forms of understanding. We don’t know yet but something will absolutely happen – but for sure not everything.

16.00-17.30 Lecture
Paula Mulinari
Intersections of inequality, intersections of resistance.
Taking Malmö and the inequalities shaping this special place as a point of departure, Paula Mulinari will discuss the link between intersectionality and resistance.

18.00-19.30 Film screening
Privilege by Yvonne Rainer
Privilege (1990) begins with a documentary style exploration of the taboo subject of menopause and goes on to explore the historical medicalisation and trivialisation of women. The film doesn't take on a pat victim mentality in its exploration but rather widens its focus to consider the many competing forms of discrimination that exist in our society.

19.30
Dinner, bar, DJ and world famous band - Fabulebbs & the Sensational Stage Dyke
Fabulebbs & The Sensational Stage Dyke is an incomparable lesbian experience that gets straight to the point.


Sunday, September 7

10.00-11.00 Performance
Privilege Walk with Johanna Gustavsson
Privilege Walk is a pedagogical tool used to understand the intricacies of privilege e.g. “If you were ever called names because of your race, class, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, take one step back.” “If your parents were professionals: doctors, lawyers, etc. take one step forward.” This collaborative performance aims to mark the privileges of all of us participating in the symposium.

11.00-12.30 Lecture
Angela Dimitrakaki
Gender and Labour in Contemporary Art.
The lecture will discuss the work of contemporary artists in relation to globalisation and gender. Specifically, the argument will consider how the socio-economic processes described as ‘globalisation’ have possibly generated a new interest in labour relations which is evident in art today; transformed contemporary art practice in ways that bring it closer to hegemonic forms of labour as defined in political theory; and, finally, that such changes become greatly visible once attention shifts to the gendered artist, that is – and this is said with some irony – the ‘woman artist’.

12.30-13.30 Lunch

13.30-15.30 Workshops
Mujeres Publicas (workshop 4)
The workshop will focus on political actions from a creative perspective; to work and act to produce an alternative to traditional ways of understanding political demonstrations. The objective is to denounce, make visible and to favour reflections about different forms of oppression against women.

Ellen Nyman (workshop 5)
‘The best intentions’ – A privileged walking tour!
The theme of the workshop is to deconstruct our own power positions and to define the contexts we usually do not prioritized and the reason why. To actively become aware of different ways of acting will be dealt with using our own experiences and practical visualizations.

Athena Farrokhzad (workshop 6)
Collective writing.
What could a text be if it belonged to everyone and nobody? What are the aesthetics and politics of collective writing, and what is it good for? What power relations are there in collaborative textual processes? The workshop introduces possible theoretical tools for
collective writing and puts them to practical use collectively.

16.00-17.30 Lecture
Vanja Hermele
The Thanks, but no Thanks.
A short guide through the most common, but not very rational explanations why equality is out of the question when it comes to Art and Culture.

17.30-19.00
Conclusion, summary and evaluation

Saturday and Sunday
A film program, curated by the YES! Association will be presented continuously on two monitors in the bar. It includes a selection of videos that in different ways relate to the overall theme of the symposium. The program tries to outline what intersectionality can be and how it can be strategically implemented.

God morgon, professorn

Majoriteten av de sökande till "Fri konst" inför höstterminen på Konsthögskolan i Stockholm var kvinnor. Ändå är nästan 80 procent av de antagna män.

Läs Linda Fagerström artikel God morgon, professorn i Helsingborgs Dagblad.

Testimonies

The YES! Association currently invites people working in the artfield e.g. artists, curators, art-critics, pedagogues and gallery owners, to contribute to Testimonies - an archive of discriminatory acts within the art field and comprehensive strategies to overthrow them.

We are looking for testimonies on discriminatory acts based on gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality or any other possible reasons for discrimination.

We are also very interested in hearing your thoughts on strategies, as we hope that the book will also contribute to the discussion on methods and ways to sabotage structural oppression.

How did you react in the situation that you experienced? Did you take any action? Did you tell anyone about what had occurred, and if not, what made you keep quiet? Did you get support from elsewhere? Thinking back on the situation now, what do you wish you had done? What would you suggest a fellow artist should do in a similar situation?

The art world's normative and value conserving gate keepers has for way too long trusted mechanisms such as isolation, taboos, hierarchal structures and shame. All to protect their actions from being revealed and for them to remain in power.

We think that now, with several important feminist art exhibitions taking place in the Western world (US and Europe), is the right time to put the oppressors up against the wall and demand real change. We believe that it is now - as always, crucial to continue the work of dismantling power structures by telling and sharing experiences.

We want to archive those stories for the after world and turn them into a historical document - a book. It is of equal importantance to us to initiate and co-create a reference material of the factual discrimination, as well as to gather a catalogue of strategies for resistance.

We look forward to receiving your contributions as soon as possible. If you would like to contribute with your testimony please contact testimonies@foreningenja.org. A book release for our first archive of testimonies is planned to Spring 2009.

We would also be grateful if you forwarded this enquiry to anyone you think might be interested.

WACK! Radio: Art and the Feminist Revolution

Art Radio WPS1.org presents a collection of special programs featuring historic interviews and discussions with artists whose work ignited or has been influenced by the feminist revolution.

We have collected new interviews with key participants and gathered archive programs that reflect, illuminate, or embody the principles and practices that were pioneered by the feminist art movement.

These programs are presented in association with P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center’s presentation of
WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution, the first comprehensive, historical exhibition to examine the international foundations and legacy of feminist art, from February 17 through May 12, 2008.

Etableringsbidrag 2008

Föreningen JA! har med stolthet och glädje
mottagit ”Etableringsbidrag 2008” från ”Delegationen
för fördelning av stadsbidrag för kvinnors organisering
och jämställdhetsprojekt”.

Ungdomsstyrelsen

29 februari–2 mars 2008, Moderna Museet

The Yes! Association is looking forward to attending:

Feminisms, Historiography and Curatorial Practices - a three day conference scrutinizing the status of the feminist perspectives in curatorial practices and research.

After 40 years feminist art and art theory own a history which can and should be examined. Open lectures and workshops by application

Key note speakers are: Lolita Jablonskien, Amelia Jones, Mary Kelly, Griselda Pollock och Maura Reilly.

We Wish You a Happy New Year!

The board of the Yes! Association wanna wish every feministic fighting artist all over the world a Happy New Year!

Don't forget "Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History"

Where Are All the Women? On MoMA’s identity politics.

Läs Jerry Saltz's artikel publicerad den 18 november 2007 i New York Magazine här

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art

Is MoMA the worst offender?

New york Magazine tallied how women fare in six other art-world institutions. Läs här

Polismyndigheten i Skåne har meddelat att förundersökning nedlägges

Föreningen JA!s anmälan av Bengt Boreson och Vikingsbergs Konsthall i Helsingborg för stöld av konstverk och därtill för sexuella trakasserier (ofredande) den 14 april 2007 har lagts ner.

Nu har det dock visat sig att det inte bara är våra anmälan som lagts ner utan även Vikingsberg Konsthalls verksamhet. Kulturnämnden i Helsingborg har nämligen beslutade att förvandla byggnaden till kontor för kulturförvaltningens femton tjänstemän.

(Som en organitiation som verkar för en jämlik scen för samtidskonst i Sverige sörjer vi att Helsingborgs politiker nu gett Dunkers Kulturhus nya riktlinjer där samtidskonstens betydelse och plats inte prioriteras.)

Moderna Museet får bidrag för inköp

Idag, den 6 september, meddelar Kulturdepartementet att Regeringen stödjer Moderna Museets strävan efter jämställdhet i museets samlingar och har därför beslutat att bevilja Moderna Museet ett engångsbidrag om 5 miljoner kronor för inköp av konst av kvinnliga konstnärer.

Det blev inga 50 miljoner som Lars Nittve och Moderna Museet önskat för att rätta till "den genusmässiga obalansen" i samlingen.

"Det andra önskemuseet" verkar trots detta som ett lovvärt initiativ tack vare de privata donationer som hittills har kommit Moderna Museet tillgodo. Lars Nittve har nu, enligt honom själv, på egen hand gett sig ut på jakt efter de, som de kallas, kvinnliga konstnärer som museet anser vara viktiga i denna omskrivning/tillskrivning av konsthistorien. Allt för en god sak, och föreningen JA! hejar friskt på med en uppmaning att pruta på de gamla gubbarnas alster och betala det dubbla för tanternas!

Lite STATISTIK från Moderna Museets hämtad från deras Årsredovisning 2006.

Museet köpte under året in 57 verk (måleri, skulptur och installation, fotografi, rörlig bild, teckning, konst på papper) av 31 konstnärer. 15 män och 16 kvinnor.
Av dessa 57 verk saknas uppgift om upphovsperson till 11 verk. Alltså finns 46 verk redovisade. 25 verk av män och 21 av kvinnor.

Det finns inga uppgifter om de specifika utgifter för inköp, vad museet har betalt för respektive verk, så det är omöjligt att veta hur den ekonomiska fördelningen ser ut.

Vi hoppas givetvis att Moderna Museet numer är medveten om den ibland omedvetna och ibland onödiga uppvärderingen av stor konst gjord av stora män.

Have a nice summer!

The board members of The YES! Association wishes you a pleasant and feministic summer!





Lars Nittve in "They call us Art Feminists - a panel debate on gender equality in contemporary art", organized by the YES! Association at Kulturhuset, Stockholm, June 17, 2006.

Art/38/Basel

Föreningen JA! konstaterar att när det är dags att diskutera “The Future of the Museum in Europe” på Konstmässan i Basel häromdagen. Så sitter Moderna museets direktör Lars Nittve i panelen tillsammans med fem andra viktiga konstmuseumsnubbar. Även panelens samtalsledare var en man. Föreningen JA! kunde tyvärr inte närvara och vet därför inte om frågor gällande representation, jämställdhet eller jämlikhet inom den framtida museala verksamhet togs upp. Vad tror du?

JA! till Museum Anna Nordlander

Idag klockan 15 presenterade föreningen JA! sin verksamhet och visade videon “Mellan kommunikation och verklighet – några aspekter av jämlikhet” i samband med utställningen "DIALOG - budskap, barrikader och motstånd" på Museum Anna Nordlander i Skellefteå.

Subject: DVD:n

From: "Lars Sylvan"
To: "JA! nu"
CC: "Ami Kinell" ,"Lars Sylvan"
Subject: DVD:n
Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 13:42:58 +0200

Föreningen JA!

Bästa Malin!
IDAG den 4 maj 2007 låg dvd:n i vår postbox!
Poststämplad den 12 april 2007 och precis som
du/ni sa skickad express. Har begärt in en
förklaring till den sena ankomsten. Återkommer.
Vill ni ha dvd:n? I utställningen görs sedan
vernissagen en referens till hd.se, men som
du/ni vet så har vi inga som helst problem med
att visa den på plats.
Hör av dig/er!
Mvh
Lars

Dagens ETC

Läs Martin Halldins artikel i dagens ETC här

Mail till Ami Kinell och Lars Sylvan/Vikingsbergs konsthall.

Angående ert erbjudande att återinstallera vårt verk “Mellen kommunikation och verklighet – några aspekter av jämlikhet” i utställningen Bra konst.

Föreningen JA! kommer inte att under nuvarande omständigheter installera vårt verk hos er på Vikingsbergs konsthall. För att detta ska ske kräver föreningen JA! att ni på Vikingsbergs konsthall ger oss en offentlig ursäkt där ni berättar vad som hänt utan att undanhålla sanningen. Vi ligger inne med två polisanmälningar, en för konststöld och en för sexuella trakasserier. Det är ingen lek, det är inte en del av vårt konstverk. När allt är utrett och ni givit oss en förklaring till detta handlande kanske vi kan börja diskutera en eventuell ominstallering.

Fram till dess får ni hänvisa till Helsingborg Dagblads hemsida http://www.hd.se, där videoverket finns att se.

/Styrelsen för föreningen JA!
den 25 april 2007

Helsigborgs Dagblad den 24 april 2007

Idag skriver Helsingborgs Dagblads Gunnar Bergdahl följande:

"I en försåtligt enkel form, med en slags omvänd närvarokänsla, kan du uppleva några telefonsamtal, lite kalla siffror och några tappra försök att ta reda på hur Vikingsberg fungerar. Allt för att illustrera de övertydliga genusstrukturer som ännu dominerar svenskt konstliv. "50 procent och lite till" är Föreningen Ja:s paroll. Det är en paroll som svävar fram mellan kommunikationens självklarheter och verklighetens utseende. Här nedan ger Fred Andersson sin bild av vad som hände. Vi hälsar konstdebatten välkommen tillbaka till kultursidan!"

Läs alla artiklarna:
"Censurstorm kring Vikingsberg" av Jenny Petersson (nöje)
"Censur eller konstinstallation?" av Gunnar Bergdahl (kultur)
"Föreningen JA! och ett utställningsnej" av Fred Andersson (kultur)
och
se föreningen JA! video "Mellen kommunikation och verklighet - några aspekter av jämlikhet" här