Organized as part of the exhibition “In and Out of Context” by Programs for Research and Outreach (PRO) in association with Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri, this event will shift between elements of a seminar, screening, lecture, and discussion.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EVENT

Concepts such as minor science, militant research, or extra-disciplinary investigations are related efforts to conceptualize a field of practices that could connect activism, analysis, and aesthetics. For Programs for Praxis, we are interested in instigating a set of collective militant investigations, which do not fear trespassing any perceived borders of art or academic research, and wish instead to connect ideas with lived reality, lived struggles—creating in the process possible new perspectives of the city and potential grounds for emergent solidarities.

This session will attempt to make public some of our analysis of contemporary political developments and open up a discussion with invited participants as well as the public about possible fronts of engagement within the city.

SESSION DETAILS
Part 1 | 4-6:30 PM

Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri will outline some of the motivations for their Project for a Revolution in New York and present analytical frameworks for possible group formation/exploration. After their initial introduction, a group of invited artists/researchers will introduce some of their concerns and questions. The invited artists/researchers include: Emily Forman, Benj Gerdes, Dara Greenwald, Karen Hakobian, Jesal Kapadia, Josh MacPhee, Paige Sarlin, Harout Simonian, and others. Subsequent to their interventions, the floor will be opened up to a common discussion about contemporary political questions and their relations to New York City.

Part 2 | 7-9 PM

If the first part of the day is about motivations and analysis, the second part of the day assembles some of the inspiration for Project for a Revolution in New York and possible examples of extra-disciplinary investigations. Though the project’s inspirations are multifold, for this evening, the artists will focus on the 1960s. Through film and video screenings, interrupted by contextualization, and discussion, this session examines past collective practices that attempted to conjoin activism, analysis, and aesthetic experimentation.

MILITANT INVESTIGATORS WANTED

This event will mark the initial step in making the process of this project collective. The artists would like to invite anyone who is interested in exploring the intersections of embodied thought, political action, and artistic experimentation to attend. The individuals who wish to take part can be artists, politically engaged individuals, amateur researchers, dormant revolutionaries, unemployed, or inoperative. All are welcome. The shared ground could be an interest to confront and connect contemporary political analysis and questions to the lived city.