Here are some statements by the panelists of Tavira’s symposium as they arrived.
Thank you
António Cerveira Pinto
Alex Adriaanssens
remarks
- How can we understand the museum Zer0 compared to the classical tasks and activities of the museum?
The classical tasks of the museum are:
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- Presentation of the collection and archive
- Educating the audience by using the archive and collection
- Preservation art and culture at large, creating historical narratives, interpretations for society.
- Artistic production and research is often NOT in the package (that was a model from the 70s)
All activities of a regular museum are somehow related to the collection so one would need a collection to fulfill these classic tasks. There is a little budget to go beyond these tasks. The question is if Museum Zer0 can take all roles on its shoulder, without them becoming conflictual (budget wise, or audience-wise). So is this what museum Zer0 is looking for? I don’t hope so.
So what could be the focus and format of Musem Zer0, and what tasks would it see for itself?
In the earlier talks and meeting we had (2015) it became clear that Museum0 wants to be a place for research and production, for example via an artist in residence program and related activities. It was also looking for its relationship with regional and national universities, organizations and traditions.
In many European countries, research and production have been taking over from the museums by artists initiatives, or artist-run spaces who played a very important role in the development of contemporary art in Europe up from the 70s I would say.
I hope the museum will indeed become a place for research and production, a place for young talents in Portugal to work in (inter)national networks via this Museum. And sure the Museum can build strategic alliances with other musea and art spaces for this.
Another question (which we didn’t directly address) is if the museum will also relate itself towards design, the more autonomous section of it I mean (speculative design for example, or smart textiles, or art focused on Life Sciences a.s.). We didn’t talk too much about this but it’s something to look at also because of the agricultural aspects of the region, but also to be clear about its inter/transdisciplinary ambitions (if they have this ambition of course, which I hope they do).
- If you’re a museum of art in the context of our technological culture you must have a mission, vision, and range of tools to fulfill your mission.
How to position yourself between the different force fields that are active in the field art, science and technology (industry looking for solutions and ideas; politics looking for social innovation; and how to protect the arts against these very strong power players in society). What could be the ADDED value of the arts in this setting? How would the chain for the creation of meaning look like for museum Zer0, and how can one build strategic alliances – based on the chain of the creation of meaning – with partners in different knowledge domains?
So one needs to be able to reflect the new museum in the context of our contemporary technological culture – that is partly defined by science and industry – and envision the role of the Arts in this.
For example in western Europe we can see the debate between the arts as a more autonomous based practice and the mission and goals of creative industry, both emphasizing on creativity as a needed quality to innovate society (socially) and economy, or better said creativity as a needed capacity for a culture to create new paradigms, new images, new insights in a society that got stuck on many levels. That’s the more special approach, but since the economy is the dominating force in contemporary society there is also the limitation that at the end it is all about economic targets, and economic progression that is NOT benefitting society at large. So one needs to be aware of these forces at play and act strategically with it.
- What kind of tools can one think of to fulfill the mission and targets? Question is the mission of course, but some basic tools could be:
- Artist in residence program – interdisciplinary setup – that are looked at within a specific framework like for example connecting to specific conditions/craftsmanship/points of friction that qualify the region.
- Educational events that disseminate knowledge and experience, and stimulate collaborations, focussed on creators and makers.
- Public events that attract the local/regional audience; for example with a thematized festival that connects national artists, designers, scientist to an international community in specific knowledge domains.
- Seen the agricultural profile of the region it might be interesting to take a special interest in Life Sciences, Artificial Life, Artificial Intelligence, Bio Art, Synthetic Biology, and sustainable agriculture a.s. But it is there an audience for this, and Portuguese artists and designers that are active in the field?
- There is a tendency since some years to work again with one’s hands, to work with materials again, work that has a physical aspect. And to connect this with contemporary technology, with coding, or with science (physics and chemistry). This could be interesting for the museum.
Possible role of museum Zer0 for the artists
- Museum Zer0 seen as an intermediary, a narrator, interpreter for the general audience. But also a space for research, creation, and production.
- The museum as a safe haven, a buffer to protect the fragile practice of research and production against politics, political pressure. This regarding an increased tendency to instrumentalize the arts.
- The museum should also be a place for artists to connect to international networks (for presentation and research/production), and to set up collaborations on a European level.
- A place for artists to present and contextualize one’s work.
Technical / maintenance issues (regarding presentation and preservation)
The technical aspects of a museum of art, science, and technology are complex.
They need it for:
- Presenting works dealing with art and technology
- For producing new artworks
- For educational purposes (tours, site-specific info)
- For preservational reasons (artworks)
All these activities ask for a different approach towards technology. This is not easy, specifically the aspect of preservation (old soft and old hardware; converting formats (resolution, codecs, formats; etc.) are complex, too complex I would say for a small museum like museum Zer0.
Technology can be a burden since technology gets old and outdated very quickly, so one needs sponsors and partners from industry who see the added value for their company to relate to museum Zer0. So keep the technology limited, look for partners (industry, rentals etc.) to keep a flexible position in dealing with the technology itself.
The good thing is that artist have good computers nowadays with all basic tools in it. So the museum could focus on high-level technology like good projectors (10K Lumen a.s. and possibly 4K resolution). And have some strong computers for production work (AR/VR, data mining a.s. and good software which is harder for artists to have access to)
And tech that is rare and attracts artists and designers. Probably a good Fablab can be very attractive for artists, designers in the region, there is an international organization offering Fablab devices and update them on a rental basis a.s.
Also, interface design and software design can be an added value for such a museum. First off all Portugal has technical talent that now goes abroad, maybe some can stay and work in the museum, and help out for artistic productions you only need 1 or 2 all around nerds, all others can be employed on a project basis.
Mónica Mendes
remarks
The practice and teaching of digital arts in Portugal faces a number of challenges, among which I can highlight the almost non-existence of digital artworks in the permanent collections of museums, the scarcity of both specific funding and a receptive market to invest in this type of pieces, and the difficulty in establishing links and exchanging knowledge and experiences with the digital arts community in Portugal.
The relationship with a structure such as the Museu Zer0 is a welcome opportunity for art education institutions, especially in the field of digital arts and new media. Its proposal to create an international meeting point for the digital arts community in Portugal to showcase their work, exchange knowledge and experiences and develop artistic and research projects is an initiative to be embraced and supported.
As coordinator of the Multimedia Art degree at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon (FBAUL), there is an openness on the part of the institution to create inter-institutional collaboration bonds that allow both FBAUL students and researchers to find space for work, reflection and exhibition of their work, and also for the museum actors to find collaborators and prime material for the implementation of their mission of dissemination, valorization, conservation and study of this area in Portugal.
In view of my experience in the relationship between the digital arts and communities, I believe that the location and surrounding context of the future Museu Zer0 in Santa Catarina do Fonte do Bispo is a unique opportunity for artists to develop their work in articulation with local contexts – rural, with difficulties and outside urban centers, and with Algarve as a context not explored in the digital arts, the Arab tradition, tourist gentrification and desertification of the interior – for the museum to have a real impact on the quality of life of the local population.
Nuno Sacramento
remarks
Reflections on Museu Zer0, Tavira
Nuno Sacramento, Director of Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen (Scotland)
Let me start by thanking the organization, namely Antonio Cerveira Pinto, Joao Vargues and Instituto Lusíada de Cultura (ILC), for the invitation to the exciting discussion about Museum Zer0’s future. I would also like to thank the colleagues in the panels – a group that included artists, curators, academics, theorists, directors, etc from a number of countries in Europe as well as the USA – for sharing their fascinating insights.
My own communication focussed on the boring but crucial aspects of institutional practice and governance, rather than on the thrilling processes of artistic programming.
It is summarised in three main questions:
- What is the ‘business plan’ for the museum? What is the length of the plan (3, 5, 10 years)?
In the ‘business plan’, one will find the answers to:
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- Why a museum? Why digital? Why here?
- What is the funding model? How can the museum and its programme be economically viable within Portugal’s cultural funding landscape?
- What is the governance model? Who oversees the ‘business plan’?
- How many staff is employed? What is the staff structure?
- What is the artistic programme? Does it run exhibitions and events? Does it run artist residencies? Does it have an educational programme? Are these activities free or paid?
- What is the overall budget? How much goes to overheads and how much goes to artistic programming? What are the main funding sources?
- What is the marketing plan? Who are the target audiences? What local, national and international communities does it engage with?
- What is the relationship between Museu Zer0 and the local geographical community?
- Have people been asked how they view a museum in their village? Will they be stakeholders in the project?
- Are there programmes that involve local youth with the incoming artists and curators?
- Is the museum going to contribute to the economy of the village? Will some locals work at the museum? Doing what jobs?
- Augusto Boal (Theatre of the Oppressed) said something along these lines: “Don’t go into a community without it clearly articulating the need and desire for you to be there”. The museum is going to share its space with an existing agricultural cooperative. What are the relationships between the museum and its neighbors?
- How innovative is Museu Zer0’s governance model?
We should look beyond the places with generous public funding landscapes like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and look into countries like Croatia, where the funding landscape is similar to the Portuguese.
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- For a number of reasons including the war in the Balkans, Croatia had a number of cultural and youth centers whose buildings were never completed.
- Croatia’s presence at the 2015 Architecture Biennale (Venice) showed the project “We need it, we do it”. The publication describes a number of projects that took over these half-built infrastructures, repurposing them.
- Due to the limited public funding landscape, the governance of these ‘new institutions’ was shared between public bodies and civic organizations.
- Could the public-civic partnership model be considered for the governance of Museu Zer0?
To conclude… the food, the hospitality, and the company during the two days spent in Tavira were exceptional. The conversations prompted valuable exchanges between the speakers, some leading to future collaborations. The event itself allowed for an informed, frank and generous discussion, arising great curiosity about the project’s unraveling. Museum Zer0 has the potential to radically alter the cultural landscape of the Algarve and events like this create robust foundations. There is, however, a need to get all the right stakeholders around the table. To echo the words of Bernard Serexhe and other speakers, look forward to continuing this confabulation.
Michael Mondria
remarks
I will just summarize briefly my thoughts and communications:
It became clear that the Museum Zero wants to be a place for digital art, for research and as well, in the future, for production. And this in a sustainable way. Besides that, it should be a highly interesting meeting point for tourists, temporary living people and especially the local people.
To achieve this it becomes clear as well that this vision has to be defined in a detailed way including a business model, funding model, governance model, organization model, and communication model
The major key points, looking at the experience with Ars Electronica, are
- Stable funding and support from government
- A strong and dynamic team of creators, developers, and visionaries, who are the core and driving force for the development of the specific content as well as new types of collaborations
- A strong partnership with the industry: sponsorship, exchange programs, projects, research, etc.
- Diversified collaborations with the academic world: residency programs, projects, exhibitions, shared platforms etc.
- Integration of the locals: participation programs, projects, and installations in the public area pointing to Museum Zero, etc.
- Collaborations with other cultural entities: V2, Ars Electronica, ZKM, etc.
Bernhard Serexhe
New Codes in Art and Culture.
Manifesto for Museu Zer0
Dr. Phil. Bernhard Serexhe
Independent Curator
Expert of Electronic and Digital Art
The manifold statements and recommendations, important and justified mosaic stones, which have been successfully created and discussed in Tavira’s 2017 conference When Bits Become Form have also inspired me to reflect on the more principal questions in culture and art, which could serve as cornerstones for the concept of Museu Zer0://centr0 de arte d1g1tal.
Reflecting in particular upon questions linked to its actual designation as “museu” in relation to its destination as “centr0 de arte d1g1tal”, it seems inevitable to recall the conditions of the ongoing transition from analogue to digital culture : With the upcoming Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, we are facing a new dynamic boost of those technologies, which are said to be at the core of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
For a deeper comprehension of this transformation, it is sensible to question the meaning of the abundantly used and misused term revolution. Until our era, a revolution has been said to come from below. But the digital revolution is being decreed from the top down by globally operating corporations. By controlling the code, the rules, the storage and the flow of information, these private-sector companies have taken control over the electronic extensions of mankind. It can no longer be overlooked that their powerful endeavors could lead to a digital capitalism which is based on the smart exploitation of peoples data, senses and emotions, which could become the most profitable merchandise of the future.
The proposition that the 4th Industrial Revolution will bring more affluence, more jobs, democracy, greater individual freedom, and even peace to the world has become the favorite promise of a large following of politicians who tell us that the new digital order will march forward irreversibly, being a given fact of progress whose consequences are as necessary as they are desirable.
The content and communications industries – often in the disguise of social media – are consciousness industries with the highest impact on the further development of humanity. Given the rapid transition into a perfectly controlled and digitally dependent society, art and culture as the last remaining liberal disciplines must pose questions about democracy, human values, and sustainability in the ongoing 4th Industrial Revolution. They are in the best position to question the manifold stimuli for cultural change and how these are related to the social and political consequences.
Culture does not stand against the economy. On the contrary, it is its deepest source and strongest catalyst. In the worst case, the new coding in culture and art could result in a broad mass of interactive consumers restlessly zapping between the meaningless audio-visual products offered at dumping prices, a programme which harbors a totalitarian tendency. [1] But for a better perspective, cultural content as an outcome of the creative process of research, analysis, and confrontation is not only a mere product, nor a commercial commodity which simply can be sold for profit on the world market. Culture is the active process of being involved in gaining a higher awareness of things as they are, and as they should be in a democratic society. The ultimate aim of culture is the responsible citizen.
In the light of the above, and with a far-sighted vision, it seems to me that Museu Zer0’s destination as a venue and strong catalyst for the cultural development of the Algarve Region and its citizens, with a national and international resonance, can best be addressed by promoting and bringing together the high potentials of “art AND technology” – as these are designated by the old term techne.
Its former function as a grain silo makes the venue of Museu Zer0 particularly attractive for a transmission of its meaning as a ‘brain silo’, a point of reference, a lighthouse and a forum where the research and knowledge of principles are inextricably linked with the practice of art.
Considering and fully recognizing the differentiated conclusions of the participants [2], this vision can be achieved by the following programmatic activities:
exhibitions: temporary theme-related exhibitions of highly selected extraordinary works (singular, or in small number, regional and international) in all fields of digital arts : visual art, life sciences, net-art, electronic and digital music, literature, film …; the type of Kunsthalle (exhibition hall) without spending investment in the systematic building and conservation of a permanent collection; top priority is to react flexibly and pro-actively to new existing productions : these exhibitions of a singular or a small number of works should be highly attractive for local as well as for national and international visitors, the latter can be tourists, or even more specialists, theorists, experts, students, artists, composers, writers… journalists;
residencies: interdisciplinary artist in residence program for research and production in all fields of digital arts: research, development, production, and premiering of relevant works reflecting on recent and future trends and the impact of the digital on society and culture;
makers workshop: permanent (weekly) moderated makers workshops for local children, young and adult students; mediation, experimentation, and practice of digital skills and internet related technologies and knowledge, “new coding” with the perspective of responsible citizenship;
forum, brain silo which nourishes peoples mind, platform real and virtual for education, symposia; regional, national and international university institutes, research centers join in for inter-institutional partnership, meet with experts in a dedicated inspiring atmosphere, well focused on analyzing the conditions of digital society and culture.
Outlook / Prefiguration
It is obvious that this demanding program needs an incubation period, a time of development, and a time of coming out. Nonetheless, its vision and scope, and its serious and positive intention should, to my mind, be visible at the earliest possible moment. In order to create the curiousness and further participation of the local and regional communities, and not least with the aim of establishing fruitful cooperations with national and international culture institutions at the earliest date, it would be beneficial to intensify the pre-figuration program which has already been established with the two Tavira symposia in 2015, respectively in 2017.
1. If monopolisation of new media and communications continues, the so-called digital revolution will become the perfect instrument for that most dangerous of all totalitarian systems, a “brave new world” in which the direct authentication of information is of no account whatsoever and people deftly operate their remote controls without being aware of their lost social and cultural significance. The promised freedom would then be this: cyberspace for the privileged and mass-multimedia as the opium of the people.
2. see: https://museuzer0.wordpress.com/when-bits-become-form-conclusions/ conclusions by Alex Adriaansens, Monica Mendes, Nuno Sacramento, and Michael Mondria, in English, and Emanuel Dimas de Melo Pimenta, Patrícia Gouveia, Mirian Tavares – which I am following with much interest, but also somehow limited by my weak language skills in Portuguese.
Gary Hill
From what I gather, there was an initial meeting which I wasn’t a part of so I feel a little bit on the outside of the story. For what its worth I had a few thoughts as follows:
I love the name of the museum–museu zero, although it’s a bit unfortunate that the name brings up the Ground Zero Museum in Manhattan which has an altogether very different meaning.
I’m somewhat ambivalent with the notion of a digital arts museum which might seem passé and too specific before it even opens.
I think it’s crucial to involve the local communities that live there as the general public and as practicing artists. I was surprised that a couple of artists I met in town knew nothing of the project. Without local community involvement, I would think it extremely difficult to financially (and ethically?) support such an endeavor. I suppose this would be the idea of an international art research facility that of course would be a great opportunity for “international” artists but I can’t imagine how that would be supported. Even within this idea, it would be better as a kind of think tank since keeping up with current technologies as far as a hands-on endeavor would add still more to the budget.
In general, I’m not optimistic unless the finances (foundation) are/is firmly in place.
Short messages
Bernhard Serexhe
I am more than honored to make public the kind words that Dr. Bernhard Serexhe dedicated to the symposium of Tavira.
Dear Antonio,
after returning to Germany, I once more want to express my sincere gratitude for your invitation to the symposium in Tavira.
It has been highly inspiring for me to meet you, and the respective colleagues from various fields of action and interest. It was also important to visit the future venue of Museu Zer0 together with Paulo Teixeira Pinto and João Correia Vargues.
Please accept my congratulations for your initiative and the sage composition of the symposium’s participants. Each one of the three round-tables has rightly generated ideas and questions, enthusiastic as well as critical in a positive sense: All of them gave direction to the further development of this project as one of the future catalysts of a more diversified cultural landscape of the Algarve region.
I can well imagine to actively participate in the further development of this project. It would be a great pleasure for me to share my long-term experience, positive and critical, in the development of art centers, as well as in the more detailed planning, organization, and curation of cultural events.
With my best regards.
Bernhard Serexhe
