MoKS annual summer art symposium AVAMAA took place from August 16-21. The biggest challenge this year was to conduct the symposium almost without being able to use MOKS. With the exception of using the basement for 2 of the workshops, the building was pretty much unusable because of the current state of intensive renovation. The same could be said for the final concert event, Mesi Kõrvadele which was supposed to be held in the new Mooste concert hall (folgikoda), but was held in the Kultuurimaja instead also because of renovation work. Given these conditions we still managed to pull everything off, hosting and feeding all 37+ participants for a week creative endeavors in the Mooste schoolhouse. Details of the workshops, projects and week long program can be found on the MOKS website.

We would like to thank the MOKS team and all the participants for their creative energy this year: John W Fail, Giles Bailey, Natalia Borissova, Selda Asal, Cem, Marko Kosnik, Monica Glahn, Lara Tau Viera, Michael Saup, Di Clay, Nick Clay, Goncalo Leite Velho, Andrus Kallastu, Hans Gunter Lock, Leonora Palu, Indrek Palu, Kai Kallastu, John Grzinich, Evelyn Müürsepp, Maarin Ektermann, Mari Jõgiste, Patrick McGinley, Jaanika Jaanits, Piibe Kolka, Tom Grzinich, Leela Elison, Toomas Thetloff, Siim Tiirik, Mari Kalkun, Taavi Tatsi, Kaisa Sammelselg, Grigori Lotman, Caleb Waldorf, Piret K, Maria Rõhu, Kurt Korthals, Andreas Leo Findeisen

After Curatorial Dinner exhibition

The artistic project ‘After curatorial dinner’ was conceived by Petra Kapš during her one month x-op residency in MOKS. She researched the artistic production of a number of artists (Riho Kall, John Grzinich, Evelyn Müürsepp, Toomas Thetloff, Patrick McGinley, Erkki Luuk, Anna Hints) through dinner conducted as a social ritual. The exhibition contained works that were produced in connection to the process of her residency.

MUTOPIA 6

The 6th edition of MUTOPIA was held during the event and was led by Tero Nauha and John Grzinich. While the group was fairly small the effort was of the participants was highly focused and concentrated. Most of the workshop took place in the public spaces around Tomar and focused on two locations in particular, the monument outside the courthouse (in the middle of a parking lot) and the main gardens under the castle. Below is a short video compilation that randomly composites some of the sound, movement and text exercises.

Click here to view the embedded video.

playing the great flagpole on Heybeliada, photo by Enise Gökbayrak

New Maps of Time sound workshop/residency Istanbul Turkey

‘New Maps of Time’ is a project and workshop about mapping architectural and urban spaces using sound as a means to express actions within a space. read more…

Workshop carried out in the frame of my X-OP residency at Apartment Project, artist-run project space, from February 8 – March 8, 2010

Idil trying a simple sound horn, photo by Enise Gökbayrak

One of the deepest traces in my memory are connected with silence that I had the pleasure of listening to when smoking a cigarette outside, staring through the window, taking long walks around the small lake and through the forest, lying in bed early in the morning, when light was still shy and I was concentrated on the outside just to hush up my thoughts … or the silence I listened to when being with/sitting with people and listening to them or to myself … always listening what silence spoke to me. Unconsciously, silence and the mere fact of being by myself most of the time gave me inner beauty and clearness. While contemplating, I realised I almost selfishly protected my “by my self” being there … And again, I emphasise the importance of primary, basic activities like burning a fire, just sitting in front of the flames and enjoying purifying softness of the parching heat and sounds of redness … and there, somewhere in-between, disperse silence emanates, that helps you to really hear yourself. Maybe this is all what there is around the mystery of silence, yearning, exploring and researching of it?

When I told people I would be at Moks the whole November, I noticed a hesitation concerning the persisting greyness of the day. But that was exactly what I wanted – to experience November light in Mooste (and Tartu, Pärnu ….) and all the varieties of hazes and yes, there are thousands of different greys and blues (from purple to the white pearl to dense black).

About curatorial dinners …

The question how to perform a “curatorial research” on a personal level somewhere with very little things known, was challenging for me. But soon I found a satisfying possibility in phenomena of “dinners” – through intimacy of social ritual like eating together. And there I had seven different stories with different people and artists. Also, I have to say it was fun experimenting with local food supplies.

with Riho Kall
apple, orange, almond and raisin cake

with John Grzinich
tagliatelle with tomatoes, mozzarella and cheese, olives and red vine

with Evelyn Müürsepp
red peppers, zucchini, almonds, raisins with soya sauce and cardamom, rice and carrots with garlic and lemon, cake with cherry jam and chocolate from the market

with Toomas Thetloff
we changed roles, Toomas was the cook, we had liver, red beet and cottage cheese

with Patrick McGinley
mixed smoked and very (!!!) salty fish with cream sauce, rice, clementines with dark chocolate

with Erkki Luuk
smoked fish in cream sauce with garlic and butter potatoes with dill, mandarines with dark chocolate

with Anna Hints
I don’t have a photo of our meeting, we met at Werner cafe in Tartu, we had coffee and carrot cake

Here are some photos of my oscillation between fascination, artistic researches, writings, spontaneous acts, researching of words … (I still believe words can correspond with persons on intimate level, on political level – or with other words, words are not what we think they are – sometimes, when someone tells us something, they are just … nothing, empty, and maybe they are empty because of speaker’s emptiness – and here I don’t mean the emptiness in zen perspective).

The third X-OP event of this year took place in Novigrad Croatia in the frame of the Mediascape festival. In the X-OP “tradition” the meeting of the 9 partners provided a base for intensive discussions relating to the cooperation between the diverse group of project partners. While much of this is far too complicated to elaborate on here, the fact remains that cooperation and transparency are essential, not only for basic functioning within the project but also to generate new content with sincerity and a level of quality we are capable of. In parallel, we were treated to a series of artistic and curatorial presentations in the warm atmosphere of the Istrian sun taking while refuge in the shade of the Musej Lapidarium. In a sense one could get an overview of activities regarding artistic policies and practices from the region of Croatia and Slovenia which seem to differ greatly from those we are used to at MoKS. In between there was a touch of art, not quite enough for our tastes but a taste nonetheless with a few musical performances of the electronic vein and a spontaneous intervention in the city by Evelyn and Susanne Kienbaum of Berlin. What was the message here?Even with all the resources and beautiful environment of the Novigrad event, the most precious resource still remains to be time, of which there never seems to be enough, time to meet, time to share, time to listen from which new ideas and relations grow. If there is one thing to respect and understand, its the need for giving time to the process of the X-OP project, other wise that time will be sacrificed for continued misunderstandings and frustrations among ourselves, especially the ones who gave so much time in the beginning to make such a thing happen at all.

photos by John Grzinich

Monday, January 26, 21.00
*Electropera Act 1: Parahouse_12
self-evolving participatory environment
by Egon March Institute and partner productions
Studio Martina Schumacher & Joulia Strauss in Ullsteinhaus

Monday-Thursday, 26th – 29th of January
X-OP- Conference Berlin
„True Art / Truely Merchandise“
at ConcentArt