05 Sep 2012

NEWTOPIA: The State of Human Rights

NEWTOPIA: The State of Human Rights
Mechelen and Brussels (Belgium)

1 September – 10 December 2012
Opening: 31 August 2012

More than sixty years after the Declaration of Human Rights, the question of human rights is constantly gaining in importance and remains a key global issue. NEWTOPIA: The State of Human Rights is a major international contemporary art exhibition dedicated to human rights. It charts the development of the human rights movement and its evolving discourse since the post-war era. NEWTOPIA explores the numerous, complex and multi-faceted issues pertaining to human rights. The exhibition is divided into several thematic chapters that trace the development of human rights and their rise, particularly since the 1970s. It negotiates the different and complex facets of human rights: from civil and political rights, social, economic and cultural rights, to the right to sustainable development, to peace and to a healthy environment, while emphasizing the indivisible, interrelated and interdependent nature of these rights.

NEWTOPIA is on view in Mechelen, Belgium, from September 1st to December 10th 2012 and is configured as a parcours in various cultural institutions in the city-centre of the historic Flemish city of Mechelen – only at 20 minutes from Brussels.

NEWTOPIA presents more than 70 acclaimed and emerging artists of different generations working in diverse media. Many of them come from countries and regions where human rights have been or still are a particularly contested issue such as the Arab World, China, Latin America, and the former Soviet Republics. Half of the artists come from non-Western countries. Participating artists include: Ravi Agarwal (India), Kader Attia (France/Algeria), Yael Bartana (Israel), Ali Ferzat (Syria), Ziyah Gafiç (Bosnia/Herzegovina), David Goldblatt (South Africa), Hans Haacke (Germany/USA), Mona Hatoum (Lebanon/UK), Thomas Locher (Germany), MadeIn (China), Boniface Mwangi (Kenya), Marina Naprushkina (Belarus) and Taryn Simon (USA). For the full list of participating artists see: www.newtopia.be

Commissions & Special Projects
There are two new commissions for public space, a large-scale video installation by the internationally renowned Polish artist Krysztof Wodiczko and a mural by the Egyptian artist Ganzeer, who has been the driving force behind the visuals in public space for the Egyptian revolution. Finally, there is a curated exhibition within the exhibition itself: South African, Brussels-based artist Kendell Geers decided to open up his solo invitation to Newtopia and invited guests and friends to share their personal visions and interpretations of the complex subject of human rights. His project includes, among others, Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramovic, Barbara Kruger, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, Nedko Solakov, and Zapiro.

NEWTOPIA also features a satellite exhibition at ING Cultural Centre in the heart of Brussels – a solo exhibition of the internationally renowned Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar (from the 10th October)

The Publication NEWTOPIA – The State of Human Rights
A book, edited by Katerina Gregos and Elena Sorokina, has been produced to accompany the exhibition, published by Ludion (English and Dutch). It includes essays by Ariella Azoulay, Katerina Gregos, Lina Khatib, Keenan Malik, Samuel Moyn, Elena Sorokina, Raoul Vaneigem, and an exclusive, original interview with Stéphane Hessel. The publication also includes a selection of short seminal texts by prominent human rights defenders and activists such as Liu Xiaobo, Anna Politkovskaya, Shirin Ebadi, Asmaa Mahfouz, Aung San Suu Kyi and others.
ISBN: 9789461300751 / Price: 27,90 Euros.

NEWTOPIA is part of the exhibition cluster Visual Arts Flanders 2012, which comprises five international exhibitions in the region of Flanders.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are both partners of the project.

For more information please check: www.newtopia.be and www.newtopiablog.com.

International Media Relations:
Goldmann Public Relations, Daniela Goldmann and Anna Bernhardt
Email: abernhardt@goldmannpr.de,Tel.: +49 – 30 259 357 16, Fax: +49 – 30 259 357 29