Videogram 128: CASo [online/english]

Join us for the next talk in the Videogram lecture series on contemporary curatorial and artistic practice and theory.

In global capitalism, artists are no longer the “outsiders” of the labour system but the exemplary model of the self-employed, self-exploited, full-time freelancer. Art is not a space of freedom but of reproduction of market logic of production and distribution. Through a review of the history of CASo del Centro de Arte Sonoro, an institution of the National Ministry of Culture in Argentina, we will address some problems related to the role of a public institution, the work of artists, logic of collectivisation and oxygenation of creative processes, strategies of murky and mutant cultural management to divert public resources to strengthen the common good and that the liberation of the artist’s work really constitutes a political commitment that can, of course, be extended to others.

On the other hand, we will present and discuss some projects that have been part of CASo’s programming in recent years, including Radio CASo and a Latin American network of experimental radios, with the aim of opening up questions about how an institution can listen to a community, to its territories of action, to its time. And what are some specificities of curatorial, management and listening practices in Latin America. The talk will be led by Florencia Curci, director of CASo.

The Centro de Arte Sonoro / Sound Art Center (CASo) is the first institution in Argentina dedicated to the research, creation and dissemination of artistic practices based on sound and listening. Created in 2017 and located since then on the third floor of the Casa Nacional del Bicentenario, CASo generates situations of encounter and critical reflection through the production of exhibitions, concerts, workshops, residencies and publications. At the same time, Radio CASo offers a continuous programme of music, radio experimentation, interviews and podcasts. The activities of the Centro de Arte Sonoro encourage the participation of musicians, artists and researchers from Argentina, Latin America and the rest of the world, and are open to both amateurs and the general public. 

CASo carried out projects with the Centro Cultural Kirchner, Bienal Sur, Instituto Nacional de Musicología Carlos Vega, Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Museo Nacional del Cabildo, Museo Histórico Nacional, Museo Casa de Ricardo Rojas, Manzana de las Luces and InTAD, the national universities UNTREF, UNSAM, UNDAV and UNQ and the festivals RUIDO and Byte Footage. It has also collaborated with international institutions such as Festival Tsonami (Chile), Festival en Tiempo Real and Festival Transversal Sonora (Colombia), Worm Radio Station (Holland), P-node (France), Escuela Universitaria de Música (Uruguay), Indonesian Embassy in Argentina, Goethe-Institut, Open House London and British Council. The Centro de Arte Sonoro is a collective learning platform and a space in permanent mutation. Its quest focuses on approaching theory from practice and questioning established ways of experiencing listening, with the aim of redefining the public scope of a cultural institution.

The lecture in English will take place online. Meeting ID: 913 5014 1301.