2002-12-07 - Netherlands
Manifesta 5 in Donostia-San Sebastian
The International Foundation Manifesta (IFM) is delighted to announce that the city of Donostia-San Sebastian in the Basque region of Spain has been chosen to be the Host City for Manifesta 5.

Donostia-San Sebastian has been selected because of its dynamic historical and socio-political background, as well as its trans-regional importance. The city has developed an increasingly vibrant cultural identity through daring initiatives on the part of its independent artists, galleries and institutions. At the same time, the local art scene has shown a strong commitment to the International Foundation Manifesta as co-producers and organisers of the 5th Manifesta biennial edition.

The Basque region has a strong sense of cultural and political identity and a determination to develop coherent cultural policies. This attitude and its geographical position in Southern Europe makes Donostia-San Sebastian a challenging location for the 5th Manifesta. One of the IFM's long-term strategic aims is to achieve a stronger North-South balance, in all aspects of its activities, including location, board members, curatorial teams and artistic representation.

During a press conference in ARTELEKU, Donostia-San Sebastian, representatives of the International Board of Manifesta officially appointed the next Manifesta 5 curatorial team: Massimiliano Gioni, art critic and curator, director of the Nicola Trussardi Foundation, based in Milan and New York, Marta Kuzma, independent curator and former Director of SCCA Gallery in Kyiv, former Artistic Director of the Washington Project for the Arts/Corcoran in Washington DC and former Director of the International Exhibitions Program at the International Center of Photography in New York, and Paula Toppila, curator at Finnish Fund for Art Exchange, Frame (Helsinki) and one of the former curators for Momentum Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art in Moss, Norway in 2000. In keeping with the Manifesta tradition, the curators have been selected in order to create specific projects by referencing their respective past experiences and perspectives without entering into a preconceived concept or space as to what defines Europe.

In contrast to former editions of Manifesta, the curatorial team will commit an extended amount of time to reside in Donostia-San Sebastian to develop the Manifesta project in close proximity to the city and the region, its institutions such as ARTELEKU, CICC, Kursaal, and Koldo Mitxelena including the main exhibition, related public projects and educational programming.

For more information on Manifesta 5: www.manifesta.org
Source: e-Flux by Alenka Pirman - Slovenia