An artist Talks, Forum Borders Grenzen Fronteras with Neukoellimport. 19.02.11. Kunsthaus Tacheles Neue Gallery.

It was with great pleasure, that I welcomed once again Jana Taube and Alejandra Borja, for this discussion and exchange around the theme "Borders" chosen for the Neukoellimport exhibiton 2010, that took place in the Kunsthaus Tacheles this past December.

Here is a video to remember the exhibition and success of the event, where so many visitors came to see.


The theme Borders was chosen by Alejandra and Jana both together in consultancy with the artists from Neukoellimport, who found this subject vaste enough to give possibilities to all different medias and artisits to express themselves.

The Border is at first a limit you are confronted with it can internal in your mind or external from your environment. 
The limit of your skin to the air can also be consider a Border, an angle used mostly by performance artists: Sabia Khan, Alejandra Borja and Jana Taube.
The mental border was explored by visual artists with video and painting.  
Alexia Car, for example, used two canvases, side by side, to represent the crossing of Borders.

Ariel Lomanno also shared his vision of Borders. And alike other artists, worked step by step, keeping in mind the theme.

The Columbian Nelson Alberto Zambrano Guzman, presented with drawings and pictures, placed side by side, a combination that testifies of limitations and "Fronteras", that none can escape.. 

Along our discussion, we came to another Border: the material realities of the artist life. How it is possible to deal with the limits of our administrative existence inside the society as individuals but also as a community.


Depending on the country we come from, the vision and the social position of the artist seems to be different, and these Borders in the minds of the society are slow to change. Nevertheless, as Alexia describes the social system specific to artists in France, she also reminds us that it is the artists responsibility, to go beyond borders set and anticipate the difficulties, we may encounter, as artists.


Social and political Borders, of course bring us to react and respond that it is also our responsability, to help the community see, the necessity of artistic production within the city. Alejandra shares her experience around the funding for projects, where it seems to her, that the city is expecting artists to work as social workers, that their art works should have an impact on the viewer and bring a positiv energy to spaces and areas in difficulty.


All the different aspects of the theme, brought us to the theme of Survival/Resistance, as an artist, which is the theme of the next Forum talk Saturday 26st of February 2011.

See you there.