Capitalism and the social imaginary – with Hervé Baron at Careof

Seminar series held in Italian

From the 26th to the 29th September and from the 17th to the 20th October at Careof, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milano.

In this series of encounters, run by the economic researcher Hervé Baron, we intend to propose an argument that is relatively unknown to the Italian public: the issue of the social imaginary. The argumentation will range from the general to the particular: after an initial introduction to the topic, we will see why the studies of the imaginary have developed mostly in France around Cornelius Castoriadis. We will then confront the approach of Castoriadis with that of Marx in order to investigate possible complementarities. These theoretical excursions will be followed by practical examples of the application of the concept of the imaginary to our society. These examples will focus on money and the image as commodity.

The last three encounters will be dedicated to a reading laboratory in which we will analyse texts relating to the arguments treated beforehand.

The aim of this series is not to propose ready solutions, but to stimulate questions and doubts in the interlocutors. Bibliographical references will be provided in order for everyone to keep on walking with their own legs, once the series comes to its end.

26th September 2011, 4pm
What is the imaginary?

27th September 2011, 4pm
Cornelius Castoriadis and the imaginary

28 September 2011, 4pm
Castoriadis and Marx

29 September 2011, 4pm
A practical analysis: money

17th October, 4pm
A practical analysis: the image as commodity

18th October, 4pm
Reading laboratory
The Religion of Capital by Paul Lafargue (in an Italian translation by Hervé Baron)

19 October, 4pm
Reading laborato
The Religion of Capital by Paul Lafargue (in an Italian translation by Hervé Baron)

20 October, 4pm
Reading laboratory
L’uomo sulla luna (The Man of the Moon) by Maurizio Grossi

Gli incontri si terrano nella galleria Careof alla Fabbrica del Vapore a Milano. Via Procaccini, 4.

At Careof, Milan, 05.09.2011-28.10.2011

Our next residency is about to start. Until the 28th October we will be hosted by the organisation for contemporary art Careof at the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan. We’ll share the Construction site for non-affirmative practice with six recent graduates from Italian design schools: Isacco Chiaf, Stefano Capodieci , Caterina Giuliani , Manuel Guadagnini, one member of the collective Quisai and Giovanna Zanghellini.

Do widzenia Warszawa

After our 5 months long residency at A-I-R Laboratory in Warsaw, we’re back in Italy. Soon we will post more material about Constructive Dismantling, the main project we developed in Poland.

Interview in Notes

An interview with us by Paulina Jeziorek was published in issue number 69 of “notes.na.6.tygodni” (6-week notebook), a non-profit cultural magazine published by Bec Zmiana Foundation (Warsaw).

Open call: Cantiere per pratiche non-affermative (Construction site for non-affirmative practice) – Careof, Milan, September/October 2011

We have been invited by Careof , an organisation for contemporary art based in Milan at the Fabbrica del Vapore, to take part in the FDV Residency Program for creatives.

In September and October 2011, we will transform the exhibition space at Careof into a studio/incubator for non-affirmative practice in design. We invite five recent graduates from Italian design schools, who in their graduation project have intended to foster debate on a specific socially, politically or environmentally relevant issue, to share for two months the material and social resources of our residency. Thus inserting a buffer between the educational and professional world by creating a space where to extend and deepen the path of research and experimentation people have undertaken during their studies and in particular during their thesis work.

The project, Cantiere per pratiche non-affermative (Construction site for non-affirmative practice), is part of our current research on the relationship between design, precarity and critical practice, which has been ongoing since the beginning of 2011 within the framework of a Ph.D. at the Design Department of Goldsmiths College in London. The underlying question of the research project is: what organisational structures and strategies enable designers to contribute with their work to a more equal, just and de-alienated society?

Apart from coordinating the unusual workspace, we will contribute to the project by organising a series of encounters with designers and other experts around the production dynamics of the capitalist economy.

The invited designers will be welcome to use the gallery/studio at Careof as a multi-functional workspace. This means that they will be able to:

- Have a fixed workspace in the gallery from the 5th September to the 29th October (the space will be open Monday to Friday from 11am to 7pm)
- Organise and participate in research-oriented seminars, talks and workshops related to their own or others’ projects
- Exhibit their works and use the gallery to involve and engage with the public
- Benefit from working closely to practitioners from various disciplines who have similar interests

The initiative is addressed to designers who graduated in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Designers wanting to participate should send their graduation project (5 images and an abstract of max. 500 words) together with a motivation letter to bravenewalps [at] gmail [dot] com by the 31st July 2011. The names of the five participants will be published by the 10th August 2011.

In Metropolitan Magazine and PEN

An article on Department 21 is featured in the current issue of Metropolitan Magazine and one on Decode Jerusalem is featured in PEN, a Japanese design magazine.

Designing Economic Cultures – seminar 2

Designing Economic Cultures – seminar 1

Creative Survival – dealing with precarious working conditions is the first in a series of 6 seminars for design students at Goldsmiths College that Bianca is organising in the context of her research degree.

Read more ›

At I’ve Zine the Darkness

From the 3rd to the 11th June, the Department 21 book will be exhibited – among a huge amount of zines and self-published stuff – at I’ve Zine the Darkness , a show curated by Franziska Brandt & Moritz Grünke at dieschönestadt gallery in Halle (Ger).

At Bunkier Sztuki, Krakow – 28.05.2011

This Saturday evening at 6.30pm we will talk about some of our past and current projects at Bunkier Sztuki Contemporary Art Gallery in Krakow.

My castle is your castle – room in a room

With the help of Pawel Jasiewicz and Anna Sikorska, the first guest in our co-residency program, we finally completed the construction of an additional room in our studio at CSW Zamek Ujazdowski. Constructed using in part recycled materials, we see this structure as a device that facilitates the sharing of our current resources with other designers and artists.

Read more ›

Pairings: Conversations, Collaborations, Materials

Tonight, as an evening event of the conference Pairings: Conversations, Collaborations, Materials in Manchester, we’ll present Department 21 and our current research, Designing Economic Cultures at The Fourth Floor .

At Limitazioni Temporanee 07-13.04.2011

Laboratorio Campano is part of the exhibition Limitazioni Temporanee
in Milan, curated by Alessandro Sambini .

My castle is your castle fully booked

As at the moment we have a slight surplus of space available in the places we are working at, we would like to attempt to set up an ‘economy of support’ by sharing these with others.

Designers, architects, design historians or other people related to design, who are working or intend to work on projects that reflect critically on society and who are looking for a workspace are welcome.

We would like to share a studio space in New Cross – London and a residency space in Warsaw. Read more ›

Warszawa

Finally we settled in Warsaw. We’ll stay here until the end of July, working at Centre for Contemporary Art Zamek Ujazdowski .

Alternative Art School Strategies – D21

On an-online, artist Pippa Koszerek considers recent student protests within the context of alternative art school strategies. We are happy that Department 21 is included amongst the profiles of other initiatives we like.

Read Pippa’s article here .

Critical spaces taking form

At the beginning of March, we have been running a workshop together with Bethany Wells for the Collective Futures Symposium at Goldsmiths College. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Department 21 on CtEU publication

A selection of contributions included in the Department 21 book have been published on the Curating the European University conference’s publication, designed by Our Polite Society .

Seminar for Joya MA CCW Residency

Tomorrow we will be at the New Gallery in Camberwell (London) to lead a seminar for the MA Fine Art students from Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon College of Art , who will do a residency at Joya: arte + ecología in Spain later in the year. This year the project is led by Trish Scott and supported by Rebecca Fortnum.

At Curating the European University, Leuven

 
Together with participants from all over Europe, we will explore the public role of the university during a 2 day symposium at the University of Leuven in Belgium.

Curating the European University
10th to 11th February 2011
Campus Arenberg
Leuven, BE