Jurij Krpan, Kapelica Gallery
Interview, 1. 6.   2000

http://www.kapelica.org

Kapelica Gallery , Kersnikova 4, Ljubljana

 
At the end of November 1998, when the news was officially published that Manifesta 3 will be hosted in Ljubljana, we, the representatives of non-commercial galleries, who represent contemporary art practices (with this I mean mainly Škuc Gallery and Kapelica, and to a certain extent also Gallery P74 and Modern gallery) were surprised and glad at the same time. We were of the opinion that the state has decided to finally repay its symbolic due to us and in such a way legitimise our operation, and thus also legitimise the art practises that we represent.
The main purpose of our discussion on Prušnikova was to try to detect the way of co-operation between the event and ourselves, for we believed that there is no way that the hosting of Manifesta 3 will be able to bypass us – individuals and institutions who generate a space of contemporary artistic practises and who could with our experience and expertise contribute to the quality of the event itself. The guideline of the discussion on various forms of co-operation was that at the end of the event something would also remain – infrastructure, connections, and mainly affirmative.
We expected that the state will add to the inclination to contemporary art that it showed by hosting Manifesta, by forming a cultural policy, which would enable the existence and development of contemporary art. Today the situation is such that Škuc and Kapelica are on the verge of existence, even though we still have a lot to say.
The declaration of Manifesta 3 as regards its connections with the local scene remained only on a declarational level. The first brochure of Manifesta 3 states that the event will take place in all areas of Ljubljana, however, neither Kapelica nor Škuc are included, which is an obvious oppression. As regards the fact that the event will also take place in the Modern and other galleries I do not know why these two galleries are not suitable. As regards the content affinity, which we have recognised between Manifesta and our operation we expected that a mutual co-operation between us will emerge – that curators will start from the existing situation on the local level and they will enrich it by the event. For example, curators could, at presenting a performance, turn for help from the local scene to places where such a platform is already set up, where the public and infrastructure are already set and where a certain symbolic frame is already given. Manifesta could enrich all of this. I think that this would be a true representation of evolving from the local area, and not that everything is done anew, for a once off opportunity. At all this we were at first thinking of creating a parallel event to Manifesta 3 and thus draw attention to the true situation in the field of contemporary art in Slovenia. However we let go of this idea from a purely marketing aspect, for it would not have the right effect. It would be pointless to offer some sort of local traumas to people who would come to visit Manifesta. This would not be productive, for from the outside – from abroad – this event is seen as a high quality event and tribal, anthropological moments within a local art scene are irrelevant for foreigners.
I think that the most that we can do is that we present the programme we intended to present in the gallery, and not start a new, particular project. The greatest quality, which we can show is the process itself, continuity. That is why we plan to present our programme in Kapelica during Manifesta 3 as if nothing has changed.

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