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Dorothee Albrecht
Video Atlas
Tea Pavilion

www.dorotheealbrecht.net

With the projects ‚Video Atlas‘ and ‚Tea Pavilion‘ I am exploring with different collaborative partners prospects for the conception of a world beyond the traditional order and not merely globalized in purely economic terms.

‚Video Atlas‘ is a collection of contributions accumulated since 1998 from various artists and groups who investigate and disseminate specialized and sometimes marginal knowledge and thereby generate perceptions for “other possible worlds.” The spectrum of attempts at finding new methods and channels to challenge the hegemony of conventional stances ranges from small-scale activities through to more comprehensive initiatives operating with a professional infrastructure. The ‚Video Atlas‘ is placed in the public domain, and constantly being expanded. It can be accessed during exhibition and constantly worldwide, online on: www.videoatlas.info

A concern for arts spaces in times of global crises became the common ground of investigation of the work ‚Tea Pavilion‘ / ‚Video Atlas‘ / ‚Atlas of Spaces‘, presented at the 2010 São Paulo Biennial.

In this compilation of video works the various protagonists are speaking about their perceptions, artistic concepts and the context related to their respective art space. The emphasis is on how the individual creates new possibilities of acting when sharing and collaborating with other groups and networks. The contributors are invited to speak about the local situatedness of the projects and about the global exchange processes that also take place on the Internet. In this context making art becomes a conceptual space that opens up opportunities for fundamentally different modes of thinking and acting.

The videos document stations of a continuing journey that also explores these new globalized spaces. The starting points of the stages for the ‚Video Atlas São Paulo‘ were Ramallah and Tel Aviv, Dakar, and São Paulo itself.

The ‚Video Atlas‘ generates a virtual space spanning the entire globe where you log in via the Internet or through interfaces provided at art exhibitions. In contrast, the ‚Tea Pavilion‘ offers a specific space at a specific location where various and possibly divergent perspectives can unfold while the visitor takes tea. Having a cup of tea is part of a tradition that is at least 1000 years old, and which is also related to a colonial history often marked by violence. Taking tea also alludes to a daily respite of relaxation and reflection. Ever since the first presentation of the ‚Tea Pavilion‘ at the Guangzhou Triennial in 2008, flexible mobile architectural elements are assembled into displays for artistic projects from various parts of the world, which then generate new spatial contexts. After its presentation at the São Paulo Biennial this current version of the ‚Tea Pavilion‘ invites visitors of the exhibit at Berlin’s NGBK to have a cup of tea.

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