V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media – its Past and Present
November 24, 2011
Center for Urban History, Lviv
In her presentation Michelle Kasprzak was talking about the three-decade history of the Rotterdam-based V2_ institution, known also as the Unstable Media Institute. V2_ has earned a reputation for itself as an institution that presents and promotes the most innovative and the most dangerous media art long before it appears at other artistic institutions. V2_ was founded in a squat in an abandoned house with no legal rights. The institution began its work with the Unstable Media Manifesto. V2_ continues functioning on the edge of mediaculture. Currently V2_ is preparing a presentation of the new edition of the world-famous Dutch Electronic Art Festival, which proposes a cultural program that clashes with all expectations. As creator of cultural products, V2_ generates innovative projects at its V2_Lab, and publishes many books via its publishing outlet, V2_publishing imprint.
Michelle Kasprzak was talking about V2_’s operation methods and goals, and focused on the most recent initiatives of the V2_-Lab, the public presentation program, and the V2_Agency distribution system. Michelle also presented V2_ projects, and projects she herself has overseen, that have influenced urban space (such as her curatorship of projects involving city screens, wireless network, taxi cabs, and other unusual platforms.)
has a BA in New Media from Ryerson University (2000), and an MA in Visual Arts and Media (Université du Québec à Montréal, 2006). She is a frequent guest at radio shows on the BBC and CBC among others, she has written for Wired UK, and taught at PICNIC. She is the founder of Curating.info, one of the most visited curating blogs. In 2006 Michelle Kasprzak received a research and residency grant from the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art in Helsinki. In 2010 she has participated in summer curatorship seminars in Yerevan, and in 2011 she became a participant of the BAM International Visitor Programme in Flanders. Michelle’s curating projects have been exhibited at numerous establishments the world over. She was also appointed one of the curators of the 2012 ZER01 Biennial to be held in San Jose, California. Currently Michelle Kasprzak is curator at the V2 Institute for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam, director of the McLuhan Project 2011 in Europe, and member of the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art (http://www.iktsite.org/). Michelle lives in Amsterdam. Michelle Kasprzak
The visit and lecture were supported by the Center for Urban History (Lviv), V2 Institute for the Unstable Media, and the Ukrainian Association of Authors and Performers (http://www.uaav.net/)