Talk

Open Lecture: Dmitry Vilensky

This lecture is the third of three open lectures that are connected to Professor Dora Garcia's course "Comrade, how to build new institutions?".

Register in advance for this webinar

The houses of culture as a prototype of new art institutions. In my talk I would like to analyze the concept and practices of Houses of Culture in socialist countries, the experience of social centers in Europe and Latin America, and the new politics of progressive art institutions that aim to overcome the alienation of the display, commodity fetishism of collections and the entertaining of the public. And discuss the proposition of the Houses of Culture as a space-comrade for militant cultural environmentalism.

Dmitry Vilensky (born in Leningrad in 1964) is an artist, educator and cultural environmentalist with no art degrees. He elicits situations and relationships. No one knows what he is up to right now: perhaps he is editing a new issue of Chto Delat’s newspaper, or maybe administering the Chto Delat Mutual Aid Fund, or editing a film, or talking with the participants of the School of Engaged Art, or making a set for a new play, or sitting in the assembly at Rosa’s House of Culture editing presentation for another conference… Most likely, he is doing all this and dozens of other activities at the same time, surrounded by various comradely compositions of bodies and minds in his hometown of Saint Petersburg, at zoom and in many other places around the world.

Guest lecture series: Comrade, how to build new institutions?
Program:
18 Feb – Marco Baravalle, 3 pm open lecture
19 Feb – Ólafur Ólafssson & Libia Castro, 3 pm open lecture
25 Feb – Dmitry Vilensky, 3 pm open lecture