WALID RAAD: LES LOUVRES and/or KICKING THE DEAD

Walid Raad is a visual and performing artist. He teaches at The Cooper Union in New York. His work can be roughly divided into two stages: his work as part of The Atlas Group between 1989 and 2004, revolving around the protracted Lebanese wars (1975–1991); and Scratching on Things I Could Disavow where he engages the emergence of a new artistic infrastructure in the Middle East.

In Les Louvres and/or Kicking the Dead, Raad is an exhibition guide and story-teller. He uses artefacts and data as starting points, and uses different narrative approaches to take these well beyond their documentary value. His stories – though informed by the knowledge of the history of wars and imperialism, the biographies of different scientists, writers and inventors, art history, capital and property dynamics, the art market – make us shift from being fascinated by the lively narrative to being on a guard as to where the narrative moves away from historical and social facts and passes to other kinds of facts (aesthetics, emotional, cultural).

(Lebanon, United States)

• From and with: Walid Raad
• Project management: Celesta Rottiers
• Technical direction: Herman Sorgeloos
• Technical support: Igor Remeta, Martin Lovšin
• Co-produced by: steirischer herbst, Art Center Buda, Gone West – NEXT Festival, HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), Fast Forward Festival/Onassis Cultural Centre, Festival d’Automne

Support by: Sfeir-Semler Gallery (Hamburg/Beirut), Paula Cooper Gallery (New York).

Thanks: Jack V Sturiano, Marcella Lista, Belal Hibri, SITU Studio, Christopher Kissoon, Raphael Fleuriet, Karolien Derwael

In collaboration with: Muzej sodobne umetnosti Metelkova

Duration: 60 minutes

The performance is in English, Slovene summary will be available.