MONUMENT TO TRANSFORMATION

MANIFESTA, THE EUROPEAN BIENNIAL OF CONTEMPORARY ART

Manifesta, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art, was born as a nomadic
contemporary art event, and it has developed into a flexible and mobile structure,
capable of continually change and reinvention. Manifesta sees itself working with an
open-ended process of dialogue, initiating international collaborative projects and
adding a new dimension to a wide range of independently organised initiatives. At the
same time, Manifesta sets out to develop new audiences for contemporary art and to
stimulate new approaches to artistic production and display. Its various programs are
designed to offer artists and curators alike the greatest possible freedom to experiment
with innovative working methods and fresh approaches to communicate with the public.

In the early 1990s, Manifesta was launched as a unique, roving art event, a project
devised by a Dutch initiative that later took shape as the International Foundation
Manifesta (IFM), an independent and not-for-profit organisation with offices in
Amsterdam. As a response to the political and economic changes brought about by the
end of the Cold War and the consequent moves towards European integration, it
aspired to provide a dynamic platform that could support a growing network of visual
arts professionals throughout the region. For this reason, from the outset Manifesta
proclaimed that alongside its organisation of biennial exhibitions, it aimed to stimulate
an expanding artistic network and to develop on-going workshops for research and
experimentation, involving individual artists and artistic communities from diverse
backgrounds from all over the continent. In adherence to its mandate of playing a
critical role in the advancement and enhancement of dialogue within Europe, Manifesta
has always sought to work with artists and professionals who might otherwise have
limited access to the dominant mainstream discourse in contemporary art. This
decision to incorporate complex situations and diverse geo-political areas has farreaching
implications, not only in terms of the evolution of Manifesta, but also in
relation to the international art scene as a whole. The complex nature of each different
location provides challenges as well as specific opportunities for each consecutive
Manifesta edition. Each time, Manifesta aims to be engaged in a specific way, to make
use of the location and its particular reality, not merely to utilise it for site-specific
projects but rather to integrate the sites into the broader artistic project as a resource of
intellectual capital to provide all participants with an ample opportunity for research and
innovation.

As an itinerant biennial, Manifesta changes its location every two years in response to
current artistic imperatives, combined with a variety of social, political and geographical
considerations. It strives to keep a distance from what are viewed as the dominant
centres of artistic production. Instead it looks for fertile ground for the mapping of new
directions in curatorial practices, exhibition models and education.
From 1996 onwards, the Manifesta Biennial has taken place at regular two-year

intervals, as follows:

M1. Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1996
M2. Luxembourg, 1998
M3. Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2000
M4. Frankfurt, Germany, 2002
M5. Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain, 2004
M6. Nicosia, Cyprus, 2005-6
M7. Trentino - Alto Adige, Italy, 2008
M8. Murcia and Cartagena in dialogue with northern Africa, 2010

The European cities or regions hosting successive editions of Manifesta are selected
by Manifesta's Board and its Director according to a variety of flexible criteria, including
social, political and geographical factors, finance, infrastructure and institutional
stability, personnel considerations and, of course, the general artistic and intellectual
context. Any European city, region, island or twin-cities can apply to host a Manifesta
edition. Manifesta editions are mutually organised by both the Manifesta Foundation
and local organisers, creating a new synergetic model for each new biennial.

The typical Manifesta biennium comprises a range of activities extending over two or
more years, which includes meetings, discussions, seminars (the so-called 'Coffee
Breaks'), publications and other activities, in a variety of different locations in Europe
and the neighbouring regions, culminating in the final three-month long exhibition (or in
2006, an 'art school') in the host city itself. In this way, Manifesta aims to create an
interface between prevailing international artistic and intellectual debate and the
specific qualities and idiosyncrasies of a given location.

On a practical level, a high degree of continuity is provided by the logistical support of
the Manifesta Foundation and its staff, the transferral of its cumulative knowledge base
from one host city to the next, as well as their participation in all levels of the biennial
and Manifesta programs. Whilst the Host and the Foundation both assume overall
responsibility for funding and organising the biennial, Manifesta aspires to stimulate
extra funding from international sources and start each biennium by providing the basic
layers of a wide range of curatorial, managerial, organisational and logistic support.

What is the mission of Manifesta 8 according to the Board of the International
Foundation Manifesta, and why did the Board select the region of Murcia and
Cartagena in dialogue with northern Africa?

Inherent to the nomadic character of Manifesta is the desire to explore the
psychological and geographical territory of Europe and its immediate neighbouring
countries, both as concept and expanding topography. This process aims to establish
closer dialogue between specific cultural and artistic situations and the broader,
international context of contemporary art, theory and politics in a changing society.
Manifesta has a pan-European vocation and it has successfully presented artists,
young professionals and trainees, from as many as forty different countries. With the
expansion of the European community from twelve to twenty-seven countries, with a
possible target of around thirty in the foreseeable future, Manifesta aims to create links
with Europe's neighbouring regions in Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and northern
Africa, at the same time continuing to pay special attention to minority groups and
cultures within Europe itself. Thus Manifesta looks forward to further expanding its
artistic and professional network and to building new creative partnerships with
organisations, curators, arts professionals and individuals, within Europe and beyond,
as part of its widely connected map of contemporary art.

More information

Manifesta Foundation
Prinsengracht 175 hs
1015 DS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 20 672 14 35
Fax: +31 20 470 00 73
E-mail: secretariat@manifesta.org

MANIFESTA_15.2.2010.pdf