Currents 11: The Turn of Many Suns, the eleventh edition of this group exhibition and the first coproduced by Jester and Marres, presents the work of thirteen artists who have lived and studied for the past years in the Southern Netherlands, Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia. The works in The Turn of Many Suns choreograph a shifting beyond the school walls and into a collective, albeit unknown, future.
Where do we learn a language when its words, images, and forms do not only carry our stories of survival but also move us to survive? This language is not necessarily found in the rhetoric of education systems but rather in a role model or another student, in family members – both biological and chosen. In a favorite band, in the darkness of nightlife, in a lover’s arms, or in a painting. It emerges from bodies and spaces where expressions of being do not stop at mere gestures but become ways of living. Our languages move us forward.
The artists of this year’s edition of Currents – The Turn of Many Suns bring with them cultural, social, and political relations that question, expand, and at times undo the fabric that defines a region and regional education. The image of many suns places their works in a collective story with many protagonists, marking the moment learning exits the institution and continues as a way of shaping the world.
Featured artists
Nura Afnan-Samandari, Awa Gaye, Cynthia Carballo, Jiyoon Chung, Stefan Kruse, Dorothy in Hell, Kadia Doumbouya, Newt Contrino, Lize Crauwels, Dakota Magdalena Mokhammad, Kiko Reitsma, Javkhlan Ariunbold, and Shoaib Zaheer.
Graphic design: Liv Lismonde
Curators
H M Baker, Nadim Choufi, Michał Grzegorzek, and Lucas Odahara.
Initiated in 2013, Currents is a recurring group exhibition that showcases work by recent graduates from different art academies, brought together by a team of emerging curators. The exhibition is embedded in a broader coaching program for the participants that centers on training, networking, and professionalization.
The curators for Currents 11
Marres (Maastricht, NL) and Jester (Genk, BE) have chosen Harriet Middleton Baker, Michał Grzegorzek, Nadim Choufi and Lucas Odahara as the curatorial team for the group exhibition Currents 11: The Turn of Many Suns.
Coming from different cities – Berlin, London, Beirut, and Warsaw – and working in different fields, the members of this year’s curatorial team met at the Jan van Eyck Academy. Lucas Odahara (left), Harriet Middleton Baker (center left) and Nadim Choufi (center right) are visual artists. Their artistic practices show a common research interest in historical power structures and alternative futures. Writer and curator Michał Grzegorzek (right) focuses on queer theory in the visual and performative arts.
The curator team was selected through an open call.
Photo: Ugo Woatzi
Opening of Currents 11
Jester and Marres would like to thank everybody for visiting the festive opening of the 11th edition of Currents.
Date
Saturday, 21 September 2024
Time
5PM
Location
Marres
Capucijnenstraat 98, Maastricht
The entrance for every opening at Marres is free and everybody is welcome. There is no need to buy a ticket or make a reservation.
Time
5PM to 7:30PM
Currents 11 Overview
Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij
Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij
Photo: Rob van Hoorn
Photo: Gert Jan van Rooij
Artist Presentations
On Friday, 20 September, all participants of Currents 11 gave an artist talk, hosted at the Jan van Eyck Academie.
Location
Jan van Eyck Academie
Academieplein 1
6211 KM Maastricht
Time
5PM to 7:30PM
Artist Presentations photos
For the press
For press requests, imagery and interview requests, please contact communicatie@marres.org
Currents 11 in the press
Partners
Marres receives structural support from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Province of Limburg, and the Municipality of Maastricht. Jester receives structural support from the Government of Flanders and the Municipality of Genk.
