15 Sep 2012

"Commons Tense: New Media Art from Turkey"
15.–30. September
Electriciteitsfabriek / Den Haag / TodaysArt Festival De Constant Rebecqueplein 20, 2518 RA Den Haag
Opening : 15. September / 17.30h
Workshop : 15–16 September
Public-Art Workshop : 17–19 September Seminar & Artist Presentations : 16. September

“Commons Tense” exhibits the works of new media artists from Turkey. Being a sub-theme of amberPlatform’s 2012 theme entitled “Paratactic Commons”. Commons Tense points out that it is now time to talk within a new category that embeds the Commons in.

The decade that followed 9/11 witnessed a radical regression of communal energies, forcing us to live strictly in individual spheres; the fear and control society in the guise of a war on terror, the tendency of nation-states to impose their ideological agendas onto everyone and everything under their control and the conflicts and collaborations of a global consumerist economy that urges the rapid privatization of public goods have all taken a toll on the common values of human societies around the Globe. The commons that we need to regain entail a broad spectrum. They range from ecological unbalances, which result from the privatization of natural resources, to the ‘de facto’ privatization of judicial systems, which has led to the degradation of a justice that is common to all.

Meanwhile, the ever-popularizing digital media, beginning with the Internet itself as a common resource, has been a major source of inspiration in revitalizi- ng the idea of the commons. More specifically, the capacities offered by new media have helped to re-understand that information is a “common” as well as the right to access information.
Can digital commons be an alternative platform to launch a political thought whose main aim is sharing, transparency, and freedom to access information? What can we learn from free software’s, copyleft movements, peer-2-peer systems, the logic of open source, and creative commons? Could the digital- commons help for the creation of another form of economy and ecology? Could humans share their common resources rather than exploit them? What kind of paratactic artistic strategies could digital commons consist of?

Realized in collaboration with TodaysArt Festival in Den Haag, the artworks presented at the exhibition will offer various interpretations of the theme. The co-events, which consist of two workshops, artist’s presentations, and a seminar, will be held parallel to the exhibition. One of the workshops focuses on art in public spaces and is a collaborative workshop among Turkish and Dutch artists. The second workshop targets younger public with the aim to practice new media in a hands-on manner.