2000+23
Project curators Zdenka Badovinac and Emil Hrvatin
Maska No. 200, CD-ROM (Emil Hrvatin), September 2006
Exhibition Arteast Collection 2000+23, Moderna galerija, Ljubljana (Zdenka Badovinac), 21 September 2006
Dear ….
The Moderna galerija/Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana is preparing to stage an exhibition entitled Arteast Collection 2000+23, initiated by Emil Hrvatin, the editor of Maska magazine. You have already received a letter from Emil, inviting you to participate in the 200th issue of Maska. Now I am contacting you with the proposal that you take part, either with the same work as for Maska or with some other piece, in the Arteast Collection 2000+23, which is to open at the Moderna galerija on 21 September.
We wish to include in the exhibition your project or its concept/proposal, according to which the work would be realized by 2023 and at that time included in the collection. Furthermore, I would like you to choose one work from Moderna galerija’s Arteast Collection 2000+, to be displayed in conjunction with your work/proposal. All you need to do regarding this is let us know the name of the artist and the title of the work you have chosen. You will find all the data on the works in our Arteast Collection 2000+ at www.mg-lj.si/2000plus23.
The Arteast Collection 2000+ was conceived in 2000 as a reaction to the new political geography in Europe; it focuses principally on the art of Eastern Europe, from the 1960s to the present, predominantly on conceptual and post-conceptual art. Our purpose in starting the Arteast Collection 2000+ was to make it possible to look more closely at the little-known facets of history and gradually create favorable conditions for analyzing this art from various perspectives, also by making comparative studies with Western European art.
The objective of Arteast Collection 2000+23 is to develop the idea of the collection that originated at a given historical moment, and to present in a novel and distinct way a proposal for its future acquisitions. With this exhibition, our collection departs from standard museum collections focused on the past, as it deliberately reaches into the future. The Arteast Collection 2000+ casts light on the art of Eastern European countries that share a similar political and social past; now we are wondering about its future, about the possible directions in which the collection can develop.
Arteast Collection 2000+23 will be the fourth show in a series entitled Arteast Exhibitions, staged by the Moderna galerija. The first in the series was Form-Specific in 2003; the second, 7 Sins: Ljubljana—Moscow, staged in 2004; and the third, Interrupted Histories, still on view. The exhibition series complements the Arteast Collection 2000+, chiefly by exploring the topical problematics in the political-geographical field covered by the collection, and by formulating proposals for the future life and growth of the collection.
I am inviting you to participate in our exhibition with a work that may be included in our collection in 2023. As already mentioned, this can be the same work you will be sending to Emil Hrvatin for his CD-ROM, or some other work you choose specifically for this exhibition. Let me stress again that all we need for the Arteast Collection 2000+23 show is an idea or a proposal of a work that may be included in the collection in 2023. It is entirely up to you what medium you choose for this project. The costs of shipping the works to Ljubljana for the exhibition will be covered by the Moderna galerija. The exhibition will be also accompanied by a publication, presenting both your and the other artists’ projects for 2023 and the works chosen from the Arteast Collection 2000+.
Please let me know within two weeks (by 25 May at the latest) whether you would like to participate in this project. If yes, I would need the material for the catalogue by the end of the June: a photograph, a sketch or a description of the work for the exhibition; the name of the artist and the title of the work chosen from the collection; and your short CV (a couple of sentences, plus selections of 10 solo shows, 10 groups shows, 10 bibliographical references).
I am looking forward to hearing from you very soon.
With my best wishes,
Zdenka Badovinac
Director
Moderna galerija, Ljubljana