uqbar – Gesellschaft für Repräsentationsforschung e.V.
The association uqbar - Gesellschaft für Repräsentationsforschung e.V. (en.: Society for Representation Research) was registered on 20 January 2004 into the register of associations in Berlin, Germany. The association is classified by the German fiscal authorities as non-profit and for public benefit.
The name “uqbar” was taken from a novel by the writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986). In Borges’ novel the word “uqbar” is an entry in a fictitious encyclopaedia. The word is a construct, a letter combination without meaning, used by the author in order to show how knowledge and meaning are constructed. The problem of the constitution of meaning, signification and interpretation is central to the discussion around the term of the representation. Representation in the broadest sense means a switching procedure, which functions through references and replacement, and is an integral component of each art form.
The association aims at promoting contemporary art and culture, above all implementing, supporting and hosting projects, which dedicate themselves to the research and promotion of experimental, interdisciplinary artistic and cultural practices in the international context.
Activities
2012
organiser of the project Right-To-Left – Arab and Iranian Visual Cultures, consisting of an exhibition, workshops, lectures, and discussions, curated by Marina Sorbello, Antje Weitzel (uqbar e.V.) and Ben Wittner, Sascha Thoma (Eps51), financed by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds and ifa, supported by ZMO and in co-operation with Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien and Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst.
www.right-to-left.net
2009-2011
co-organizer of the ANIMATED leaning partnership, a cooperation project between uqbar e.V., Intercultura Consult (Sofia) and Vivo Foundation / Acax Agency for Contemporary Art Exchange (Budapest) on capacity building and creative forms of cooperation in the cultural sector cosisting of a series of workshops, financed by the European Commission, in the programme Grundtwig, Education & Culture Lifelong Learning.
2009-2010
Implementation of the project Transient Spaces – The Tourist Syndrome, initiated by curators Marina Sorbello and Antje Weitzel, in cooperation with Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst and Kunstraum Kreuzberg/Bethanien, Berlin; E-M Arts, Naples; ICCA/CIAC, Bucharest; Meno Parkas, Kaunas; funded with support from the European Commission and Foundation of German Lottery Berlin.
www.transientspaces.org
2007
partner of the 4th Ars Baltica Triennial of Art Photography Don’t Worry – Be Curious!; curated by Dorothee Bienert (Berlin), Kati Kivinen (Helsinki) and Enrico Lunghi (Luxembourg) the triennial presents works by 20 artists from the countries bordering the Baltic Sea, works that address the problems and fears resulting from upheavals in present-day society. The show is accompanied by a series of talks, lectures, work shops and residencies.
www.arsbalticatriennial.org
2005-2006
Implementation of the European exchange project How to Do Things? In the Middle of (No)where... , initiated and organized by curators Dorothee Bienert and Antje Weitzel. The project involved artists, curators and institutions from fourteen countries of an imaginary "Central Europe" derived by randomly tracing an arbitrary circle in the centre of a map. This circle includes old EU, new EU, not-yet EU and perhaps even never-to-be-EU states and thereby defies real and mental borders and raises questions regarding the geographical-territorial notion of present-day Europe and its underlying identity constructs.
For this project, UQBAR e.V. was the main co-ordinator and beneficiary of a Culture 2000 grant by the European Commission.
http://howtodothings.uqbar-ev.de
2005
partner of the conference Klartext! The Status of the Political in Contemporary Art and Culture, organized by curators Marina Sorbello and Antje Weitzel in co-operation with the Künstlerhaus Bethanien, and the Volksbühne am Rosa Luxemburg Platz, Berlin. Three days conference gathering with international artists, activists, curators, and theoreticians presenting projects and positions, and discussing on the situation of artistic-political practice today. Among the participants: Roger M. Bürgel (Wien), Catherine David (Rotterdam/Paris), Chto Delat? (Russia), Fiambrera Obrera (Spain), Grupo de Arte Callejero (Buenos Aires), Hans Haacke (New York), Brian Holmes (Paris), Maria Lind (Stockholm), Chantal Mouffe (London), Jacques Rancière (Paris), Oliver Ressler (Wien), The Yes Men (USA), etc
http://klartext.uqbar-ev.de