AFIELD Events are in-person gatherings organized in collaboration with members of the network in different parts of the world. They are aimed at making new connections and facilitating mutual support across the globe.
Can we take some time out of our busy lives to think together about the big picture and the long term? How can artists and collectives step outside of functioning in survival mode? What does it mean for a patron or a sponsor to support the social practice of a group? What could that look like? What is the perfect intersection of the interests of these two very different positions?
This public workshop on September the 10th, is made possible through a collaboration between AFIELD, Delfina Foundation and Documenta 15
Image: ‘Let's Share!’ features some Documenta fifteen publications laying under the digital artwork that is an iteration of The Collection of Jane Ryan & William Saunders; an ongoing project that traces the contours of Philippine dispossession by reconstructing Imelda Marcos' jewellery collection. It is a collaboration between Afield Advisor Pio Abad and Frances Wadsworth Jones that imagines ways of returning the Marcos jewellery to its rightful owners, the Filipino people.
The event was structured between two groups: grassroots initiatives that experiment with alternative support structures, and individuals who critically reflected on their role as collectors, patrons or philanthropists. It is often difficult to think about the big picture and the long term when struggling to ideate in “survival mode”. Our convening hopes to contribute to current debates on resource sharing from a wide array of experiences that allow us to think together about the use of networks such as AFIELD to elaborate sustainable sharing infrastructure. This reunion was the first one where a number of AFIELD members met “in real life” to celebrate and think together after 3 years of meeting online.
Study #3 Let's Share! Harvest Drawing
Drawing by harvesters Denisse Vega de Santiago, Julian Abraham ‘Togar’, Sungeun Lee, Diana Cantarey, after following our session on resource sharing and systems change.
Documenting vs. Harvesting:
A significant and relevant takeaway from Documenta fifteen is the action of ‘harvesting’ as the artistic recording of discussions and meetings.
“Harvesters listen, reflect, and depict this process from their own perspectives, forms, and artistic practices. Harvests can be humorous, poetic, or candid. They can take the shape of a Post-It note, a written story, drawing, film, sound piece, or meme.”
This AFIELD event titled “Let’s Share!” was a gathering made possible through the collaboration of AFIELD, Delfina Foundation and Documenta 15.
Through its fellowship and program, AFIELD takes part in a larger conversation around the emergence of an alternative model of funding schemes for the field of arts and culture, of which documenta 15 is the most visible recent manifestation. Translocal, it connects initiatives to share visions and concerns from different local realities to better understand and address international concerns. Decentralized, it engages all members in a collective process of decision making and distribution of resources. Sustainable, it strives to elaborate long term support structures and challenge existing systems.
Initiatives:
Pio Abad, About a Worker (Kim Hou), Astrobus Ethiopia (Yabebal Fantaye), Binna Choi, FACE (Arman Abedin, Teresa Albor), Alejandra Ballón Gutierrez, Jothashilpa (Shawon Akand), Lumbung Gallery (Lara Khaldi), Giuseppe Micciarelli, Palestine Heirloom Seed Library (Vivien Sansour), Party Office b2b Fadescha (Vidisha-Fadescha), Pustaka Bergerek (Nirwan Ahmad Arsuka), The Question of Funding (Yazan Khalili), ruangrupa (Ade Darmawan, Farid Rakun), Caroline Woolard.
Supporters:
Emilio Alvarez, Haro Cumbusyan, Sigrún Davíðsdóttir, Ileana Nomikos Drinovan, Sarah Elson, Phillip Keir, Martine de Limburg Stirum, Carlos Marsano, Thibault Poutrel, Nadia and Rajeeb Samdani, Andre Zivanari
Facilitators:
AFIELD (Olivia Alvarez, Diana Campbell, Grégory Castéra, Luz-Angela Hernandez, Benedicta Badia Nordenstahl, Abi Tariq, Sandra Terdjman, Chantal Wong) and the Delfina Foundation (Aaron Cezar, Salma Tuqan)