Collaboration Station - DAY 1

As Platform BK we can’t repeat ourselves often enough: create solidarity and collectivise! As cultural workers, we suffer from larger societal problems, such as, but not limited to, housing struggles, fair pay, gender equality, discrimination, and racism. Whilst the understanding of the importance of solidarity is growing, more often than not artists are still portrayed as the individual in their studio. In reality, we see a plethora of active collectivising happening on multiple levels in solidarity and alongside other precarious groups. These acts of collectivising are a reaction to the larger societal problems and we find it important to amplify the artist as a collective to prevent isolation and create exchange.

We see that collective work encourages artists to find support with each other and that it challenges them to grow and reflect, to stand stronger as a group, and to make themselves visible. Furthermore, collectivising is a response to the social reality where existing societal systems are lacking or are not supportive enough. In reaction to these lacking systems we see emerging bottom-up approaches, such as setting up social insurance (broodfonds) and social security, but also in new ways of living and working. To support these efforts we want to delve deeper into the question: what does it mean to collectivise, and how do you work together?

Collaboration Station will be a 3-day event which will attempt to answer these questions and create a deeper understanding of the role of collaboration and collective work of artists and organisations on artistic and societal levels in the Netherlands. We want to address three topics: collectives (collective work), financial realms of collectives (financial work) and unionising (existing work).

Day 1 (Friday 8th of November): Collective work will address the practical aspects of working together. This day will bring together different questions to create the basis for the weekend. Why do artists often work collectively? How do we work towards creating healthy and sustainable collective relationships? How do collectives currently work within (often) individualistic structures? To answer these questions and discuss the circumstances, intentions, desires and struggles that drive collective work we will partner with the new temporary course Lumbung Practice convened in partnership between De Appel, Gudskul and Sandberg Institute. In the morning there will be workshops run by Sekai Makoni and Yun Ingrid Lee. In the afternoon we open up the discussion with Lumbung Practice to a larger audience and reflect upon the topics harvested within the workshops, as well as Reem Shilleh providing a talk.

SCHEDULE:

Morning

10:00 → walk in

Morning 10:30 - 13:00 → Sekai Makoni - Workshop on active listening (language:Engels)

Morning 10:30 - 13:00 → Yun Lee - Workshop on working with differences (language:Engels)

Afternoon

13:30 → walk in

14:00 - 15:15 → Lumbung Practice - Paneltalk on collectives and conflict (language: English)

15:30 - 17:00 → Reem Shilleh - Talk on collective filmmaking (language: English)

Host or Publisher Platform BK