Islands of Kinship: A Collective Manual for Sustainable and Inclusive Art Institutions

ended

The project Islands of Kinship interconnects and transforms the practical functioning of seven mid-scale visual art institutions across diverse regions in Europe (Prague, Bratislava, Bitola/Skopje, Cologne, Helsinki, Riga, den Haag) in an innovative collaboration model addressing issues of inclusion, kinship and togetherness, democratic exchange and the ethics, emotions and practical solutions for environment-friendly institutional operation. The main objective is to create a long-lasting professional platform for joint creation, sharing and exchange regarding both programming and inner mechanisms. We would like to foster international discussion engaging artists and art professionals, cultural institutions, NGOs in the fields of social and environmental justice, public bodies, stakeholders and diverse publics, going beyond the regular art audience. To this end, we will use artistic strategies, with more than thirty solo and group exhibitions, including eight newly commissioned artworks and a number of related discursive programs, workshops, and more, designed with a view to the (post)pandemic situation. We are seeking both imaginative models and practical solutions to help us employ new strategies of togetherness, fairness, responsibility and kindness, responding to the current global environmental, political and socio-economic challenges through specific artistic visions. The project includes underrepresented groups as visitors, organizers and creators and communicates with actors and institutions outside of the visual art sphere. In addition to public programming, the project focuses on building capacity in institutions - organizing symposia and gatherings, education, sharing know-how and developing new systems, methodologies and practices disseminated through a series of podcasts, manuals and a profound publication. It introduces the need for the (art) institutions of the future to prioritize a position of ombudswo*men focusing on sustainability and inclusion.