Mohamed Amjahid and Max Czollek will engage in a conversation with guests in the U.S. about strategies for a more open, diverse and just society in Germany and the U.S. Thomas Mann Fellow and author Mohamed Amjahid and poet and publicist Max Czollek talk about political activism and diversity. In their work, they discuss the politics of history in the discourse on integration in both countries and raise the question: How is social diversity expressed in politics and art in both countries? What are counter-concepts to white, hegemonic culture?

The next episode will take place in Mexico City on October 28, where Max Czollek will speak to three independent curators from Mexico City: Violeta Horcasitas, Clara Bolívar (Tlaxcala3) and Alí Cotero (Tlaxcala3). They will discuss the current state of critical curatorial practices, both within the context of the Mexican museum and outside it. They will also examine the structural and social “walls” one encounters in Mexico.

Participants

Max Czollek completed his doctorate studies at the Center for Research on Antisemitism at the Technical University Berlin. Since 2009, Czollek has been a member of poetry collective G13, which has published books and organized lectures. In 2018, his essay Desintegriert Euch! (Disintegrate!) was published at Carl Hanser. His second essay, Gegenwartsbewältigung (Coping with the Present), was published in August 2020.

Violeta Horcasitas is an independent curator. Her professional interests include collaborative processes, online platforms and new exhibition formats. She founded Satélite, a curatorial initiative and platform that reflects on the institution of the museum. Through collaborations with artists and specialists from various fields, Satélite believes in the power of art and culture as a means to create new forms of interaction in social space, to identify challenges, to propose alternatives, and to support participation from the public and society. With more than fifteen years of professional experience in the public, private and academic sectors, she has worked for various museums and institutions including Fundación Jumex, La Tallera, Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, and Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico. She is currently working on the 2020-2021 curatorial program for Casa del Lago UNAM.

Clara Bolívar is a researcher and curator of modern and contemporary art, which she approaches from the standpoint of historiography and cultural mediation. She has worked as a researcher at Museo Nacional de Arte – INBA and at Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo – UNAM. She currently oversees discussion rounds on art that are held with independent organizations such as Tertulia, Tlaxcala3 and GCAS – Latin America.

Alí Cotero is a cultural manager, researcher and communication scholar at the Universidad de la Comunicación (University of Communication). He has worked as a placement, production and management coordinator in the private and public sectors for Museo Nacional del Virreinato INAH and Museo Jumex Arte Contemporáneo as well as for cultural festivals such as Festival Internacional Cervantino INBA and Festival del Centro Histórico México. He helped launch and promote the cultural program at Casa Vecina, a cultural institution that is part of the Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México, AC (Mexico City Historical Center Foundation). Since 2018, he and Clara Bolívar have run Tlaxcala3, an independent space for reflection on contemporary art.

Live online webinar on October 28, 2020, 9 AM (PT). Please register here.