Katerina Gregos curatrice del Padiglione Belga

Art Brussels ha annunciato il  direttore artistico del padiglione belga per la prossima Biennale di Venezia (maggio-novembre 2015), che sarà Katerina Gregos,

Il progetto si intitolerà "Personne et les autres" ed è stato concepito insieme all'artista belga Vincent Meessen, a cui si affiancheranno altri artisti internazionali. 

La mostra sarà sulla storia del Padiglione belga e sul contesto internazionale della Biennale. 

Press release 

Art Brussels is delighted to announce that its artistic director, Katerina Gregos, will be curating the Belgian Pavilion at the next Venice Biennial (May – November 2015) . The project is entitled Personne et les autres and it was conceived by Gregos together with the Belgian artist Vincent Meessen, whose work will feature in the pavilion, together with a dozen international artists.

The exhibition will take the history of the Belgian Pavilion and the international context of the Biennale (both derived from the colonial exhibitions and world expositions) as the points of departure. This will be Gregos' second time in Venice; in 2011 she curated the Danish Pavilion with the critically acclaimed group exhibition Speech Matters. We are also very pleased to announce the Gregos will also be curating the 5th Thessaloniki Biennial (May – September 2015), which bears the title "Between the Pessimism of the Intellect and the Optimism of the Spirit".

Since joining Art Brussels in 2012 Gregos has worked to develop a strong curatorial identity within the fair, and has contributed to raise both the profile and the quality of Art Brussels. Gregos’ artistic vision is translated on different levels in the fair: from her involvement in the selection of the galleries to the implementation of the artistic programming through platforms like #thestage, for debates, talks, and performances, #thecinema, for short films and artists’ video projects, the selection of the artist-run and not-for-profit spaces, as well as the artistic and architectural interventions in the fair.

The Danish Pavilion 2011

Freedom of speech is one of the key issues in the current public debate and one that is becoming increasingly contested, given the steady erosion of civil liberties in many countries today. Denmark has always been at the forefront of the public debate on issues in relation to freedom of speech, but it has also suffered the so-called "trauma of free speech".

This makes the Danish Pavilion an appropriate vehicle from which to visualise and discuss these issues. Freedom of speech is highly relevant in relation to much of what is happening in the world politically today; from press intimidation and censorship, to restrictions on the internet, as well as debates on the limits of freedom of speech, increased surveillance and forms of control. The issue of freedom of speech is highly complex, often subjective - even relative - and invariably debatable. The boundaries surrounding it cannot easily be delineated.

The exhibition Speech Matters aims to provoke a considered debate and to complicate the issue of freedom of speech, highlighting the intricacies, ambiguities and grey areas inherent to the subject, and emphasizing the fact that freedom of speech cannot be exercised or applied in any programmatic or strictly proscribed manner. Finally, the exhibition also touches on the essence of visual artistic practice, which fundamentally entails conditions of freedom of expression. Eighteen artists from ten countries have been invited to participate. The majority will be producing new work for the exhibition.

The exhibition is curated by Katerina Gregos.


The Commissioners
The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art serves as Commissioner for the Danish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, where Denmark has taken part since 1895. In compliance with its intention to consider Danish art in an international perspective, it is the aim of the Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art that the Danish Pavilion, through innovative artistic and curatorial practices, reflects upon the position of contemporary art in a globalized art world as well as the position of the Venice Biennale in this ever-changing art world.

The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Art consists of Christine Buhl Andersen, (Chairman), Eva Koch, Mikael Andersen, Jakob Jakobsen and Gitte Ørskou.

The Danish Arts Council's Committee for International Visual Arts has appointed Katerina Gregos as curator of the Danish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. For the exhibition in the Danish Pavilion Katerina Gregos has chosen to explore the very timely and complex issue of freedom of speech in a group exhibition featuring contemporary artists of different generations and nationalities.
Read more about the Danish Pavilion.

The Curator
Katerina Gregos is a highly recognized international Greek-born curator based in Brussels who has served as artistic director of Argos Centre for Art & Media, Brussels, and as director and curator of the Deste Foundation, Centre for Contemporary Art, Athens, in addition to having curated a number of projects as an independent curator, internationally.
Read the curator's statement and biography.


The Artists
Agency (International, est. 1992), Ayreen Anastas & Rene Gabri (Palestine & Iran), Robert Crumb (USA, 1943), Stelios Faitakis (Greece, 1976), FOS (Denmark, 1971), Sharon Hayes (USA, 1970), Han Hoogerbrugge (the Netherlands, 1963), Mikhail Karikis (Greece, 1975), Thomas Kilpper (Germany, 1956), Runo Lagomarsino (Argentina/Sweden, 1977), Tala Madani (Iran, 1981), Wendelien van Oldenborgh (the Netherlands, 1962), Lilibeth Cuenca Rasmussen (Denmark, 1970), Taryn Simon (USA, 1975), Jan Svankmajer (Czech Republic, 1934), Johannes af Tavsheden, Tilman Wendland (Germany, 1969) and Zhang Dali (China, 1963).

http://www.danish-pavilion.org/