Laura Berman

Dance First, Think Later ... Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, exhibition: Dance World, Dance as a global form of representation and expression, until 16 February 2025. Even in the earliest cultures, dance was an important part of rituals, ceremonies, festivals and entertainment. It may also have played a central role in the transmission of stories before they were recorded in writing. Dancing is an essential part of our existence. The exhibition presents dance as a global form of representation and expression. It does not tell the history of dance, but shows multi-perspective interweaving stories. It does not follow a chronological line, but highlights dance as an essential part of our existence under thematic aspects. This means a concept that transcends time and space and the inclusion of many dance forms. Since dance rarely stands alone, the exhibition also looks at its many connections to other art forms. The exhibits range from dance representations in early cultures to modern visual arts and examples of contemporary dance. https://lnkd.in/dvgvh_yF

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Key Facts of Darmstadt State Theatre -         Some 600 employees with at least 4 different types of collective wage agreements (Tarifvertrag) -         Three auditoriums for opera, theatre, dance, concerts, and other performances -         Leadership Structure: 2 heads of Theatre o  One heading all things "artistic", o  One heading the non-artistic branch (like administration). Main Functions / Departments -         Administration (HR, Finance, Contracts, IT and Digitalization, Misc.) -         Facility Management -         Customer Management, Sales & Ticketing (non-artistic branch) -         Marketing (artistic branch) -         Technical Department: All workshops for stagecraft (carpentry, painting, locksmithery, etc.), stage tech (sound, light, video, …) stage workers -         Artistic "Collectives": Orchestra, Choir, and Ballet -         Operations Office (Künstlerisches Betriebsbüro): Event and Rehearsal planning -         Artistic Ensemble: Actors, singers, stage designers, dramatic advisors, artistic directors Main Digitalization Challenges 1.      Digital maturity among staff varies greatly 2.      Variety of Digitalization areas is impressive 3.      Severe system discontinuities between isolated applications without APIs 4.      Some processes appear firmly rooted in the 1980s (Laufmappen, Ordner, Hängeregister) 5.      Processes and structures have evolved over decades, resulting in: a.      Implicit dependencies and rules b.      Ambiguous responsibilities c.      Intertwined functions d.      Reliance on human ingenuity and improvisation to fix process glitches 6.      Very limited budged (it‘s the arts). My Approach 1.      Send perfectionism on holiday. Start somewhere and don’t mess up operations. MVPs are good 2.      Provide value step by step, deliver iteratively and readjust at each step 3.      Low-hanging fruits are sometimes surprisingly effective 4.      Bring in experts early, build trust and stay on top of development 5.      Take ownership of data and code, reduce dependencies 6.      Effective digitalization may be "unsexy" but highly impactful From the next Episode, I present concrete solutions to real problems.

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Dance First, Think Later ... Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, exhibition: Dance World, Dance as a global form of representation and expression, until 16 February 2025. Even in the earliest cultures, dance was an important part of rituals, ceremonies, festivals and entertainment. It may also have played a central role in the transmission of stories before they were recorded in writing. Dancing is an essential part of our existence. The exhibition presents dance as a global form of representation and expression. It does not tell the history of dance, but shows multi-perspective interweaving stories. It does not follow a chronological line, but highlights dance as an essential part of our existence under thematic aspects. This means a concept that transcends time and space and the inclusion of many dance forms. Since dance rarely stands alone, the exhibition also looks at its many connections to other art forms. The exhibits range from dance representations in early cultures to modern visual arts and examples of contemporary dance. Courtesy Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn, Germany. https://lnkd.in/d8pdNzP8

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Festival Fast Forward - A Lighthouse of Democracy and International Cooperation in Arts This year's "Fast Forward" theater festival takes place from November 14 to 17 in Dresden and brings together theater groups and artists from all over Europe. Cultural formats such as "Fast Forward" are more important than ever. With a view to the Saxon state elections in September, in which the AfD emerged as the second strongest force, and to impending cuts in the cultural budget, the festival is a lighthouse of democracy and democratic ideas. The taz interviewed the director of the festival: "Orti von Havranek: I don't go out with a specific image in my head, I just look at what's there. If you want to research what the next generation is doing, you have to be aware that you don't belong to that generation yourself. So stay open to what's there and don't impose your own criteria on anyone." Festival director von Havranek further states in the interview, that the attitude of the younger generation of artists towards the audience has been slowly changing since 2011: "Some of the artists said back then that they didn't think about the audience when they were producing. But in my opinion, the question of what kind of experience one actually offers the audience is beginning to play an increasingly important role. Thinking about theatre as a social art form has become more important." (picture: Staatsschauspiel Dresden) https://lnkd.in/eWtSybkG https://lnkd.in/eRpGBTm2

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One more week to submit a proposal to the Society for the History of Collecting's session at CAA co-chaired by Ulrike Müller and Anne Helmreich: https://lnkd.in/dHSD2Six Presenting Contemporary Art in Museums, ca. 1880-1930: Temporary Exhibitions, Institutional Networks and Collecting Session will present: On location Affiliated Society or Committee Name: Society for the History of Collecting In recent historical narratives of the market for and collecting of modern and contemporary art, little attention has been given to the proliferation of temporary–often travelling–exhibitions held in museums since the late nineteenth century. These exhibitions include shows organized by institutions labelling themselves as “museums” but lacking collections, thus functioning more as “kunsthalle” (like the “Museum of French Art” in New York, established in 1911), or public galleries later rebranded as “museums” (such as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum).This session seeks to investigate the phenomenon of temporary exhibitions of contemporary art held in museums in Europe and the Americas between approximately 1880 and 1930: What role did museum exhibitions play in stimulating demand for contemporary art? What was the relationship between collecting patterns and these exhibitions? How did civic and other types of public support for the arts and commercial interests interrelate (or even compete) in these initiatives? Which types of artworks, genres, styles, and artists were featured in these exhibitions, and what were their intended audiences (and did they attract)? What national and international networks were cultivated and developed by these practices and institutional actors? How did these museum-based initiatives compare to exhibitions and networks tied to commercial galleries, artists’ associations, etc.? We particularly encourage case studies that reflect on the ways in which these exhibitions shaped the profiles, collections, and future development of the museums – as well as institutional relationships to this past.

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🗞️ The Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report Survey of Global Collecting 2024 (by Dr. Clare McAndrew / Arts Economics) is here! Here are 10 key takeaways: 📉 1. Slower sales in the auction sector (the totals at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Phillips, and Bonhams were down by 26%, and below pre-pandemic levels). The biggest auction houses fared worse than the smaller auction houses. 📉 2. High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) spent less on art (32% decrease in average expenditure to $363,905). This average was influenced by reduced spending at the highest levels. 🇨🇳 3. Despite concerns about the Chinese economy, HNWIs from Mainland China had the highest expenditure on art and antiques in 2023, as well as the first half of 2024, with a median of $97,000, more than double that of any other region. 🖼️ 4. Over three-quarters of HNWIs survey had purchased a painting in both 2023 and the first half of 2024. 🧑🏽‍🎨 5. Many HNWIs were open to exploring new artists and they play a critical role in supporting artists’ careers at early and later stages. Just over half (52%) of expenditure by HNWIs in 2023 and 2024 was on works by new and emerging artists; 21% was on mid-career artists’ works; and 26% was on those by established, top-tier artists. 👩🏻‍🎨 6. The share of works by female artists in the collections of HNWIs rose to a ratio of 44% versus male artists’ works in 2024, its highest level in seven years, up from 33% in 2018. The share of spending on female artists’ works was also 44% versus 56% on those by male artists. 🤝 7. HNWIs spent the most $ through dealers, which accounted for 60% of their total spending in the first half of 2024. This was divided into spending associated with gallery visits (28%), online (through website or online platform) (25%), art fairs (18%), email or phone (18%), and Instagram (11%). 💸 8. 67% of HNWI's had bought something at auction so far in 2024. 🎟️ 9. The average number of art-related events attended by HNWIs was 49 in 2023, and they hoped to attend 46 in 2024, eight more than in pre-pandemic 2019, and including eight gallery exhibitions and six art fairs. Looking ahead to 2025, most HNWIs (92%) were planning to attend exhibitions and events, with 48% hoping to get to around the same number and 44% hoping to attend more than in 2024. 🛒 10. 43% of HNWIs were planning to purchase a work of art over the next 12 months, down from just over half the sample in 2022 and 2023. Those hoping to sell works from their collections increased to 55%. Download/read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/erCtFF7w

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Start ups are either « profitable » or « not profitable », artists are sustainable… The word « ART » stands in the middle of the page in this report, but where are the ARTISTS? Apparently a «  non profit » like our Geneva dance company that has equipped its studio with a full optical motion capture system, created 4 XR works selected 3 times at Sundance and 2 times at Venice in 4 years and « tours without traveling » globally, welcome local and international artists in residence,and organizes formation workshop for profesionals, such a « creative company » seems not worth making the cut? We totally transformed the international diffusion of our work during covid, we estimated our c02 for « in presence » diffusion in 2019 to 100 tons of co2 in plane travel: In 20/21/22/23/24 = zero C02 for travel. Isn’t it an example of tech and sustanaibility made in CH? What this report does indeed is to relay my experience as a « digital creator » in Switzerland that is mostly ignored by the « creative digital ecosystem » only rarely invited to perform to entertain tech conference and symposium and surrounded by investors, administrator or university teachers taking part in panels as an artist, for free, very often being the only unpaid person on stage unlessxtherevis another artist on the panel! The Swiss « start up creative ecosystem » seems ignorant of what artists do in « creative culture », ignorant of what are the performing arts, that we exist and thrive internationaly and we develop digital tools and prototype in an open source and creative environment creating local knowledge and creative employment. Even if we are at the forefront of creating a powerfull creative digital ecosystem in Geneva we are not worth the cut? We created a hub for creation, making motion capture accessible for indie artists, transforming the creation and the distribution of the performing arts, hiring young technologist (out of Ecal) and performerd, creating new opportunities and new skills. To be a powerfull territory for a creative industry the « creative players » need to have a « culture of culture » and a critical mass. If the big cities are leading in creative tech it is precisely because of the culture and the critical mass. We do not have critical mass in the CH, but we do have culture, 4 languages and quite a few relevant artists for such a small country… It is sad to see that such a document about « digital creativity » falls so short of the arts…

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This is pristine clarity.

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Here is the updated paper from our presentation at the Generative Arts Summit organized by the wonderful Susanne Paech at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin in early July 2024 in honor of Herbert W. Franke. ALL WE NEED IS THINKING SPACE - GENERATIVE INTERACTIVITY IN DIGITAL ART by Monika Fleischmann & Wolfgang Strauss https://lnkd.in/dr7BbksD This presentation at the Generative Art Summit discusses the impact of Generative Art at the nexus of art, technology, and interactivity, particularly within the Art Meets Science framework. While the focus of Generative Art has been on predetermined, algorithms, Fleischmann and Strauss' approach departed from generative methods by emphasizing interactivity and audience participation as integral elements of the creative process. Influenced by post-reunification Germany and the rise of the Internet, their work highlighted performative interfaces where audience engagement actively shaped the artwork. Key projects such as "Between 0/1", "Genetic Modification", "Berlin-Cyber City", "Home of the Brain", "Liquid Views", Rigid Waves" and "Energy Passages" illustrate how their research and practice created dynamic Thinking Spaces that invited reflection, public debate, and personal discovery. This generative interactivity transforms passive observation into co-creation, allowing viewers to interact with the artwork and reflect their role within it, offering a meaning-finding, evolving experience beyond the moment of engagement. #ArtScience, #AudienceParticipation, #AI, #DigitalArt, #GenerativeArt, #Interactivity, #NonlinearProcesses, #PerformativeInterfaces, #PublicEngagement, #ThinkingSpace, #VirtualReality #fleischmannstrauss

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It is important reminder Artistic creativity has to be free to create.

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Nadra Assaf and I are in this book, Listening Without Borders. It will be published in September 2024, but the book is now available with a special discount for advance orders. https://lnkd.in/ezsBgJqY... This book asks what it takes for people to encounter one another ethically when practices, worldviews and imaginations clash. It engages over 40 contributors across geographies, disciplines, art forms and practices in a conversation that touches on topics ranging from the climate catastrophe to the disintegration of the welfare state and the erasure of certain bodies from public spaces. It is concerned with how these 'big' questions play out in 'small' everyday encounters in classrooms, rehearsal rooms, arts projects, charity events or city markets. The book's polyphonic text does not present answers to its central questions in the way a typical research publication might do. Instead, it creates a flow and invites the reader to join a conversation. By refusing to deliver an argument, the book opens new possibilities for relating to others in the academy and arts. This book is open access under a CC BY ND licence.

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