Stedelijk Statements: Alicia Framis, Century 22

Stedelijk Statements: Alicia Framis, Century 22 is the first edition of Stedelijk Statements, a program series in which a scholar, artist, critic, or cultural entrepreneur composes an evening at the museum. The curator of the program is given the floor to share his or her views on visual art and design. New research and both artistic and academic projects will be presented during an evening program consisting of lectures, debates, performances, and film screenings.

Alicia Framis (1967 Barcelona) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice blends architecture, design, fashion, and performance, and is the curator of the first Stedelijk Statements evening. This evening kicks off her international project titled Century 22. The ongoing project contains research on the social position of non-binary families, and artistic research on design and architecture related to these issues. Tonight she starts her researchproject with a film and performance, and a lecture by professor Beatriz Colomina. The performance, film and lecture all evolve around the subject of gender-neutral architecture and non-binary housing. On Saturday, January 14, Alicia Framis will perform for the second time.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

We are living in a society that becomes more and more complex. Society is becoming a big global performance directed by social media, day by day, from Facebook “like” to Facebook “like.” We’re steered by algorithms, governed by systems too complicated for one individual to understand, let alone control. The human tendency is to react to that by creating boxes and categories with fences to make it more understandable and comprehensible. So we block out all kind of deviation from the norm and create new borders (real new ones between European countries again) and divisions. 

The very first division, when we are born, is between male and female.

It seems almost fundamental for us to hold on to that as one of the last certainties we have to establish ourselves and our identity. For that reason we are extremely harsh on people who challenge that basic polarity, to those who want to change their gender during their life. Can we imagine a world in which we loosen up the gender specificity? What rules would need to be changed? What consequences would it have? What ethical decisions would need to be made?  - Alicia Framis, Amsterdam 2017 

PROGRAM, FRI JAN 13 2017

6:30 – 6:45 pm | Entrance, Teijin Auditorium
Doors open

6:45 – 8:20 pm | Performance, film and lecture | Teijin Auditorium
Alicia Framis uses this performance and film as a tool to discuss how architecture is selective and instructive, for example in your love life. People are put in boxes and sometimes forced to stay where they don't fit anymore; since our desires and needs continually change, architecture is obsolete. In reaction, Framis establishes a real-estate company named Century 22 Real Estate, inspired by the well-known international real estate firm Century 21. Until now, most real estate agencies offer housing for a governmental model for families: father, mother, and two children. Brochures with more information about the alternative housing projects are handed out at the end of the performance and function as a conversation starter with the audience.

Prof. Beatriz Colomina is professor of architecture and founding director of the program in media and modernity at Princeton University. This evening, she lectures on the topic “With, or Without You: The Ghosts of Modern Architecture”. According to Prof. Colomina,“With,” and not “and,” is the way in which female architects appear more frequently in the official records of institutions, if they appear at all alongside men in the credits. Women are the ghosts of modern architecture, everywhere present, crucial, but strangely invisible. Unacknowledged, they are destined to haunt the field forever. But correcting the record is not just a question of adding a few names or even thousands to the history of architecture. It is not just a matter of human justice or historical accuracy, but a way to more fully understand architecture and the complex ways it is produced.

Prof. Colomina has taught on questions of architecture and media since 1988, and is the Founding Director of the Program in Media and Modernity at Princeton University. Her books include Privacy and Publicity: Modern Architecture as Mass Media (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1994), which was awarded the 1995 International Book Award by the American Institute of Architects. In addition, Colomina has published Sexuality and Space (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1992), which was awarded the 1993 International Book Award by the American Institute of Architects; and Architectureproduction (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1988).

8:20 – 9:00 pm | After talks, Teijin Auditorium
After talks with drinks, music and a book table curated by Alicia Framis. The performance continues with the performers handing-out flyers with more information about alternative housing projects and conversing with the audience about the topics discussed in the film, performance and lecture. 

PROGRAM, SAT JAN 14 2017

4:00 – 4:45 pm| Performance & film, Teijin Auditorium
After the first performance on Friday, January 13, Alicia Framis will perform Century 22 for the second time in her iconic yellow suit. 

CREDITS:

This project is supported by The Art of Impact and BEAR, Artez, Arnhem. 

This project has been made possible with a remarkable project team. Curator: Alicia Framis / Research and production: Laura A Dima / Assistent: Noor Kloosterman / Performers: Alicia Framis, Aldo E. Ramos, Carla Isidorou, Melanie Chrissy Bos, Marthe Kooning, Nagare Willemsen, Natasha Kittin, Vien Slotema / Supported by: The Art of Impact and BEAR, Artez, Arnhem