Squatters 1

As part of the Cultural Capital 2001 programs of Rotterdam and Porto, Witte de With, Museu Serralves and Porto 2001 have invited a group of international artists to make new work which explores the city and urban space. The resulting exhibition was Squatters.

The exhibition Squatters consists of two parts: Squatters #1 focused on the creative use and re-use of ‘occupied space’, Squatters #2 featured works which explore the city’s morphology and the experience of architectural space.

Participating artists Squatters #1: Francis Alÿs, Juan Cruz, Angela Ferreira, Ceal Floyer, Giuseppe Gabellone, Runa Islam, Damián Ortega, Miguel Palma and Costa Vece.

The artists were asked to produce new works related to a specific location. Various locations in the city of Porto that stand outside the usual exhibition circuit were ‘squatted’. In Rotterdam, the majority of the projects was realized within Witte de With, functioning more as a metaphoric equivalent of the exhibition’s theme. Squatters goes beyond art in public space. As an extension of the squatting of space in the literal sense, what is manifest here is a phenomenon typical of contemporary art: the occupation of locations – real or virtual – which have not been defined as a locus for artistic activity, or at least not yet. The artwork is understood to mean an event or happening that translates the imperceptible into something that is relevant to society in general, and also refers to the political arena as a constant where the actual functioning of the city is debated. In Rotterdam, this was actualized in nine individual presentations.

Support for this exhibition stems from: The British Council; Fonds BKVB, Amsterdam; Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon; Fundação Luso Americana para o Desenvolvimento, Lisbon; Instituto de Arte Contemporânea, Lisbon; Istituto Italiano per i Paesi Bassi, Amsterdam; Rotterdam 2001; and Rotterdam Festivals.