Manifesta 8 - Murcia

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Manifesta, the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, is constantly changing its artistic parameters as well as its geographic locations every two years. The next edition, Manifesta 8, will take place in 2010. After Rotterdam (1996), Luxembourg (1998), Ljubljana (2000), Frankfurt (2002), Donostia-San Sebastián (2004), Nicosia (2006 – cancelled) and Trentino-Alto Adige (2008), the region of Murcia, Southern Spain, has been selected by the International Foundation Manifesta (IFM) to be the central location of a new extensive collaborative model for Manifesta 8.

Murcia in dialogue with Northern Africa

Manifesta aims to constantly reinvent its own curatorial methodology and exhibition model. In the past 15 years, Manifesta has moved from the more representational format of the first five editions, to the reflective format of a school in Manifesta 6, to the emphasis on site specific artistic production and the use of public spaces in Manifesta 7. Now, after Manifesta 7 in the 'heart of Europe', Manifesta 8 will explore the idea of Europe in the 21st century at the edges of the continent. More specifically, the aim of Manifesta 8 will be to engage with Europe's present-day boundaries with Northern Africa and its interrelations with the Maghreb region. The South of Spain, specifically Al-Andalus, has been a historical blend of Islamic, Judaic and Christian cultural influences co-existing together. This is an inspirational organic ground on which the next Manifesta 8 biennale can explore new topologies and journeys.

Manifesta Curatorial Selection

Besides Manifesta's inherent dynamic of change based on its geopolitical itinerant model, Manifesta also aims to experiment with innovative curatorial models and methodology. Previously, the Board and the Director of the International Foundation Manifesta as well as the coordinator of Murcia made a pre-selection of candidates, and then, after an intense process of interviews, individual candidates where selected for the Curatorial Team in which they were partially independent, partially bound to create collaborative structures with the other members of the team.

Under the new Manifesta 8 approach, the Board is not inviting individual art professionals for the position of Curator, rather Manifesta is inviting existing curatorial groups, artistic and interdisciplinary collectives and/or existing institutions to be part of the Curatorial Team of Manifesta 8 in order to take note of the present tendency of self-origination and to stimulate a collaborative working method connecting different geo-political regions. After a thorough and wide-ranging investigation, at this stage a number of selected collectives are being invited to submit a proposal.