Julius John Alam  will be presenting his residency project Zurich Konversationen
at Corner College, Kochstrasse 1, Zürich
on Saturday, 16 December, 2017, 4:30 PM.

mit Mirjana Power, Nadja Baldini, Jeltje Gordon-Lennox, Dimitrina Sevova and Julius John Alam
In 2016, I engaged some young people to help me make work for a new exhibition. I felt that the safe social space that formed during that time was transformative and healing for everyone. This experience shifted my work from an object based practice to a participatory approach. So, in my next art project I tried to recreate that safe social space. But I found galleries to be stressful spaces that put pressure on people to behave in a certain way. So I grew dissatisfied with the gallery system. 

When I arrived in Zurich in 2017 for a residency, I thought it would be better that, instead of working from this problematic position, I use the opportunity to find a solution. I conceived Zurich Konversationen as a collection of conversations with people who employ the arts as a tool in their own practices in an attempt to make the world a better place. Through these conversations I am trying to better understand the role of art and artists in life and how the approaches discussed in the conversations can help me in my own practice.

The series of conversations I had with people concerning the same are archived as audio recordings. These can be accessed online at the website (www.zurichkonversationen.com) that I made exclusively for the project. Dimitrina Sevova has kindly invited me use Corner College’s space to present my final project. It will be structured like a panel discussion. She will mediate and there will be 2 or 3 other people on the panel. It will be a group discussion about the same questions that I have posed during the project and also a reflection on the project itself.

Julius John Alam’s residency and Zurich Konversationen are kindly supported by IG Rote Fabrik and Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council.

Link zur Veranstaltung:
http://www.corner-college.com/Veranstaltungen/1513378800/1291