I must admit I was unaware of this until now due to travelling, but
Manifesta 6 in Nicosia has been axed. It seems a great pity that this
interesting project was defeated by a combination of local political
sensitivities in Cyprus, and perhaps an element of curatorial hubris.
Though this subject may be off topic, it does pose some acute questions
for curators, especially about the relationship between art and
politics in conflict zones, questions that Manifesta was trying to ask,
as have quite a few recent contemporary art projects. In the absence of
the real Manifesta, the discourse is occurring online, so it is new
media in this sense at least.
Apparently a press conference is due on Wednesday in Basel, so we may
find out more. Until then, reportage, statements and traces of
discussions still survive at these urls:
http://www.manifesta.org
http://forum.neme.org/viewtopic.php?id=4
http://www.manifesta.org/tekst0news1_034.htm
http://forum.neme.org
http://forum.neme.org/viewtopic.php?id=21
http://www.manifesta.org/forum/display_forum.asp?fid=3
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26220&cat_id=1
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26221&cat_id=1
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26247&cat_id=1
Chris
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