“ACTIVE - ARCHIVE - RESEARCH”
WORKSHOP
On 26 October 2023, archive research workshops will be launched at the Artpool Art Research Center. The group of seven people (university students and young researchers from different professional backgrounds) will start their work under the leadership of Andrea Pócsik, cultural researcher.
The idea of the "laboratory" is based on the unique feature of Artpool that participants can develop their own research questions in discussion with the founders, artist György Galántai and Júlia Klaniczay, and find the right paths to understand the archive and explore the collection. They will also learn about the complementary but different methods of art history and cultural studies, and gain insights into the conceptual and theoretical framework of memory and archive research.
The learning (in the words of György Galántai) becomes an exchange of ideas, and the results further enrich the possibilities of thinking about Artpool as an active archive.
The workshop will consist of three sessions (26 October, 9 and 23 November 2023),
online consultations and independent research.
Workshop participants:
Éva Bárdits (Artpool Art Research Center)
Boróka Cseh (ELTE Humanities Theatre History MA)
Anna Horváth (Artpool Art Research Center)
Eszter Molnár (Artpool Art Research Center )
Zsófia Móró (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Média design MA alumni)
Krisztina Németh (Hungarian University of Fine Arts Intermedia MA)
Anett Zsófia Szigeti (Hungarian University of Fine Arts Intermedia MA)
The key issues to be discussed at the workshop:
What can we learn from an "active archive" in order to better understand the place and role of art in our contemporary culture?
How is it possible to "leave out" our past experiences in research for a better understanding?
In what forms, events, concepts have collaborative contemporary art practices been archived and how can we learn about their contemporary manifestations?
How do the ways of collecting/documenting/developing in Artpool and their history contribute to the study and development of current archiving methods?
“ACTIVE - ARCHIVE - RESEARCH” WORKSHOP
(Summary, 1 December 2023)
Each of the three workshops used a different method and a different approach to the topic.
The first workshop (26 October 2023) addressed the basic issues of archival research.
The introductory presentation by Andrea Pócsik was followed by an exchange of ideas with György Galántai and Júlia Klaniczay. Their presentation gave the workshop members an accurate overview of the history of the foundation of Artpool.
The second session (9 November 2023) focused on the artist–institution relationship.
György Galántai and Júlia Klaniczay recalled important events and pointed out essential connections between the functioning of the social and cultural environment of the Kádár era and the previously selected archive documents.
In her presentation, Andrea Pócsik discussed the theoretical background of the topic, the limits and constraints of its research, and the role of "alter-archives". The workshop concluded with a discussion on the research questions raised by workshop members.
The third session (23 November 2023) focused on networking.
The workshop participants prepared network examples from their own present experiences. Reflecting them György Galántai and Júlia Klaniczay talked about their earlier network-building practices, while Dóra Halasi, Artpool's chief archivist, helped them to present online documents and publications, works of that certain era. Through this real exchange of thoughts, the workshop reached its true goal, creating the right material and intellectual environment for the formulation of "personal knowledge".
In conclusion, Andrea Pócsik summarized the results of her preliminary research and outlined the methodological questions that arose during the "laboratory" work, and which she tries to answer using social and cultural scientific methodologies.
The workshop will be followed by a joint evaluation in January, after written reports/reflections by the participants.