The Global Contemporary

In what way do global processes influence art and how do artists and institutions react to the increasing interweave of the global art world? The exhibition “The Global Contemporary” presented some 100 works by international artists and documentary materials which examined the effects of globalisation on contemporary art production and its reception. The exhibition focused on art shows and depictions of “global art”, its locations (metropolitan cities, institutions) and the global art market. The project also included a residency programme for young artists who wished to examine the globalisation of the art system. The artists had the opportunity to continue working on their projects on site and develop formats which illustrated the economic and political relationships to the viewing public. The curators also organized an extensive art-educational programme with workshops, discussions, screenings, performances and concerts.
The concept of the exhibition was based on the work of the research project “Global Art and the Museum” which began at the ZKM Karlsruhe in 2006 and has grown into a worldwide network of individuals and institutions in the art world. Following its presentation at the ZKM Karlsruhe, the exhibition continued the dialogue between art and globalisation at a number of international institutions.

Curators: Peter Weibel, Andrea Buddensieg
Co-Curators: Jacob Birken, Antonia Marten
Curatorial Committee: N’Goné Fall (FR/SN), Carol Lu (CN), Jim Supangkat (ID), Patrick D. Flores (PH)
Curator of Education: Henrike Plegge
Scientific adviser: Hans Belting
Exhibition Architecture: Kuehn Malvezzi with Samuel Korn

Artists: Bani Abidi (PK), AES Group (RU), Halim Al-Karim (IQ), Halil Altindere (TR), Francis Alÿs (BE/MX), Rasheed Araeen (UK), Kader Attia (FR), Yto Barrada (FR/MA), Richard Bell (AU), Guy Ben-Ner (IL), Tamy Ben-Tor (IL/US), Ursula Biemann (CH), Michael Bielicky & Kamilla B. Richter, Zander Blom (ZA), Santiago Borja (MX), Luchezar Boyadjiev (BG), Ondrej Brody & Kristofer Paetau (CZ/ FI), Erik Bünger (SE), Roberto Cabot (BR/D), Anetta Mona Chisa & Lucia Tkacova (RO/SK/CZ), Chto delat? (RU), Mansour Ciss Kanakassy & Baruch Gottlieb & Christian Hanussek (SN/D), Com&Com (CH), Minerva Cuevas (MX), Neil Cummings & Marysia Lewandowska (UK/PL), Pauline Curnier Jardin (FR), Manthia Diawara (US/ML), Ala Ebtekar (US), Nezaket Ekici, Yara El-Sherbini (UK), Elmgreen & Dragset (DK/NO/DE), Erika & Javier (PY/CU), Doug Fishbone (US), Brendan Fernandes (CA), Meschac Gaba (BJ/NL), Thierry Geoffroy (DK), Ghana Think Tank (US), Matthias Gommel, Josh Greene with Yangzi (US/CN), Anawana Haloba Hobøl (ZM/NO), Hong Hao (CN), Khosrow Hassanzadeh (IR/UK), Mona Hatoum (LB/UK), Antonia Hirsch (CA), Pieter Hugo (ZA), Ashley Hunt (US), David Jablonowski (NL), Melanie Jackson (UK), Christian Jankowski, Anna Jermolaewa (AT), Jin Shi (CN), JJ XI & Cai Yuan (UK), Jompet (ID), Martin Kippenberger, Agung Kurniawan (ID), Surasi Kusolwong (TH), Will Kwan (HK/CA), Moshekwa Langa (ZA/NL), Ben Lewis (UK), Liu Ding (CN), Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (MX/CA), James Luna (US), Pooneh Maghazehe (US), Tirzo Martha (AN), Gabriele di Matteo (IT), Miao Xiaochun (CN), Mirza/Butler (UK), Nástio Mosquito (AO), Krisna Murti (ID), Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba (VN), Ni Haifeng (CN/NL), NSK State (SLO), Eko Nugroho (ID), Mattias Olofsson (SE), Adrian Paci (AL/IT), Leila Pazooki (IR/DE), Pavel Pepperstein (RU/IL), Pinky Show (US), Tadej Pogacar (SI), Elodie Pong (CH), Nusra Latifa Quereshi (PK/AU), Raqs Media Collective (IN), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook (TH), Navin Rawanchaikul (TH/JP), RYBN (FR), Ho-Yeol Ryu (KR), Ruth Sacks (ZA), Chéri Samba (CG), John Smith (UK), Sean Snyder (RU/JP), Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau (AT), SOSka group (UA), Michael Stevenson (NZ/DE), Hito Steyerl, Mladen Stilinovic (HR), Jens M. Stober, Jim Supangkat (ID), Superflex (DK), Stephanie Syjuco (US), Tsuyoshi Ozawa (JP), Tintin Wulia (ID/AU), The Xijing Men (JP/KR/CN), Xu Bing (CN), Zhou Tiehai (CN).

Venue and schedule:
ZKM | Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, 17 Sept. 2011 – 5 Feb. 2012, opens 16 Sept. 2011