27 Oct 2010

Argos, Centre for Art and Media presents Open Archive #2

Argos, Centre for Art and Media presents Open Archive #2

With more than 2500 titles, ARGOS centre for art and media administers the largest and most accessible archive of audiovisual art in electronic and digital format in Belgium. Have a look at the collections in our multimedia library, and feel free to leaf through over four thousand publications – catalogues, theoretical works, artists' books and others – that contextualise this selection.

In this digital era, archives are constantly changing. Technological developments and social media have resulted in a new, dynamic contact with the past and the forming of recollection. Now, more than ever, the past can be seen as a space of possibilities, as a site that can deliver a constructive contribution to an archeology of the present. It is for this reason that the second Open Archive festival – the first edition took place in 2007 – repeatedly places the ARGOS collection at the heart of the program of events. Over the course of six weeks, ARGOS maps developments and trends in the domain of image and media culture. We use our archive as a starting point to trace dozens of discursive paths.

Open Archive #2 is divided into a day and an evening program. Visit the exhibition Walking the Hinterland and join one of the walking tours in which artists/guides Els Opsomer and Mira Sanders offer a surprising and different view of the city. Open Archive #2 also takes visitors beyond the walls of ARGOS with the performances of the artists connected to the Alga Marghen label (in Bozar 02.12.2010), the Ecran d'Art screenings (Cinéma Arenberg 11.11.2010 & 10.12.2010) and with the program centred on the films of Alexander Kluge in Cinematek (21.11.2010 – 30.11.2010).

As well as browsing through ARGOS' media library and visiting the exhibitions, we invite you to join us for twelve thematic compilation programs. We have collectively assembled these on the basis of new works and 'classics' from the ARGOS archive. On alternate days, we screen works by artists very dear to us in the temporary projection space. On Saturdays, we put your endurance to the test with the series Extra Length.

The evening program is a colourful blend of artists' presentations, screenings, discussion panels, performances and lectures. Starting from personal practice, from 'case studies' or from a dialogue between makers; artists, curators and organisers explore how memory culture and historicity contribute to the development of critical strategies in the arts. Check the full program on www.argosarts.org.

Open Archive #2 presents Alga Marghen, Herman Asselberghs, Ursula Biemann, Koen Brams, Anton Bruhin, Erik Bünger, Libia Castro & Olafur Olafsson, Jef Cornelis, Rhodri Davies, Jan Dietvorst & Roy Villevoye, Peter Downsbrough, Robert Filliou, Diana Franssen & Steven Ten Thije, Pieter Geenen, Ronny Heiremans & Katleen Vermeir, Joe Jones, Brent Klinkum, Alexander Kluge, Vincent Meessen, Charles Merewether, Matthias Michalka, Minhea Mircan, François Niney, Ben Patterson, Eric Pauwels, Nicolas Provost, Dirk Pültau, Steve Reinke, Dorothee Richter, Jayce Salloum, Femke Snelting, Ghédalia Tazartès, Frank Theys, Transat Video, Angel Vergara Santiago, Peter Watkins, Peter Westenberg and many more.