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Since 2016 I have been collaborating with Jasna L. Vinovrški and Clément Layes. Our working relationship started with my invitation to Jasna to perform at Montag Modus, followed by Jasna inviting me to organize an edition of 3AM with her. These occasions led to more collaborations that led to inspiring conversations and a friendship that has been essential to the development of the Montag Modus series and me personally.
At the end of 201 8, after having led Montag Modus for years, I felt that the series' structure demanded new perspectives and a different point of view. I invited Jasna, along with art historian Dániel Kovács, to join the curatorial team for the one-year long project Montag Modus Klimata. Together we founded the MMpraxis curatorial platform, which took over the directorial role of Montag Modus.
In this frame, Montag Modus Klimata became MMpraxis curatorial platform's first project. The five-event interdisciplinary project was a collective curatorial project investigating the notion of ‘climate’. With the collaboration between artists, curators and institutions at its core, we explored in which ways these relations could be challenged on an artistic, curatorial and productional level. Spurred on by the current ecological situation which clearly requires us to reconfigure our perspective, we sought new modes of curating and engaging with live art.
Curating is always a collaborative practice. As a term, it finds its etymological root in the Latin verb ‘curare’ which translates into English as ‘to care for’. Jasna’s background as an artist and her approach in caring for social situations have impacted how I facilitate events. Our collaboration on Klimata has inspired me to further explore and deepen my understanding of what it means to curate.
Léna Szirmay-Kalos
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