The List

March 14 through March 28, 2007The List is a project by artist Banu Cennetoglu and curator Huib Haye van der Werf, produced by Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Art in Public Space Foundation (SKOR), SMCS on 11, United, Maison Descartes - Institut Francais des Pays-Bas and Idea Books.
The List is made possible in part by the American Center Foundation.

MUPI outdoor advertising signs, Amsterdam
March 14 through March 28, 2007

Documentation Centre
Inkijk (SKOR)
Ruysdaelkade 2, Amsterdam
March 14 through 20, 2007 (noon – 7:00 p.m.)
Seminar & film screening, March 15
SMCS on 11 (Stedelijk Museum CS)
Oosterdokskade 5, Amsterdam
March 15, 7:30 – midnight

Description
The List is a document which contains the names of more than 7000 (known) refugees who died within, or on, the borders of Europe. It is being compiled by UNITED for Intercultural Action - a non-profit organisation composed of a network of more than 560 organisations from 49 different countries (www.unitedagainstracism.org).
For this project the List will be displayed as a poster campaign in 110 MUPI’s - outdoor advertising signs- throughout the city of Amsterdam for the duration of two weeks, March 14 - March 28, 2007. The poster campaign will not be commercially designed or contain any advertising, but only contain the List itself.
The project will commence with a seminar held at SMCS on 11, in which an international group of artists, filmmakers, photographers and academics will present work in the context of the list.
Throughout the week an information center will be made available to the public at SKOR’s INkijk, in the center of Amsterdam. Here supplementary information about the ‘Death List’ and the many other international initiatives dealing with the issues of Europe being a fortress and the fate of refugees will be made available to the public.

The purpose of this project is to confront a general audience with this crucial document by making it visible within the public sphere. The urgency to do so lies in the consistent portrayal of Europe having an ‘inside’ and an ‘outside’. The representation of Europe as a fortress - through political discourse and therefore news agencies - leads to singular notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’. However, we are at a moment where the borders of Europe are in a process of redefinition and where what is external (of) today can be internal (of) tomorrow. Rather than portray Europe as an enclosed and limited entity, one could consider embracing the uncertainty of its boundaries as something positive and unlimited.
The List as it is proposed here, however, is not merely meant as a socio-political project, but also as an experiment in exploring the borders and the scope of artistic practise. From this, it seeks out the limits of critical potential of the ‘cultural institute’ as well. What role can art play in the discussion on - and depiction of - Fortress Europe and migration? From what position can it do so?

Partners
A special component of The List is that, due to its appeal for humanity, it mobilizes organizations and people to contribute and support the project. Various organizations support the project on different levels: Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA) is our official host organization. 11 (Post CS building) will host the discussion and the screening. SKOR has offered their space – de INkijk – as a documentation/information center. Maison Descartes has offered their rooms to accommodate our guests taking part in the symposium. United, American Center Foundation and Idea Books make the list available to the public.

Seminar & film screening, March 15

SMCS on 11 (Stedelijk Museum CS)
Oosterdokskade 5, Amsterdam
March 15, 7:30 – midnight
Free admission, reservations via desk@stedelijk.nl

Program
19:30 Welcome and brief introduction to the project by Cennetoglu and Van der Werf
19:45 Screening of Britanya by Marjoleine Boonstra (2005; 13 min.)
The film is about refugees who have stranded in Calais on their way to England.
She asks them only one question: ‘Can you describe your face?’
20:00 Comprehensive introduction to the project and participants by Marina Grzinic
20:30 15 minutes for each guest to introduce themselves and present their work
21:30 Debate, chaired by Grzinic. In this discussion people in the (professional) audience can also be called on to participate
22:30 Closing statement, break and introduction to Zilnik’s film
22:45 Kennedy Goes Home (part I) by Zelimir Zilnik (2003 ± 78 min.)
A film about Kennedy; a Serb with a Roma background who (has) spent the greater part of his life in Germany until he was sent back to Serbia because of the EU recommendation that his reasons for staying in Europe were no longer valid. His makes his living by driving a cab for a low fare for people who were deported back to former Yugoslavia in one night, just like he was.

Guests
Marjoleine Boonstra, filmmaker and photographer. In 2002 she received the L.J. Jordaan prize from the Amsterdam’s Fund for the Art and the Icodo prize for her film Bela Bela. Boonstra’s films are to be seen internationally through various institutions such as Arte, BRT, VPRO and HBC.

Ad van Denderen, photographer. Over the past twelve years Ad van Denderen has done many photographic reports on refugees, often during their dangerous migration, in order to put the viewer right at the scene of the action and penetrate to the heart of this sensitive subject. He has won various prizes for his work, and published in periodicals such as Vrij Nederland, Geo and The Independent.

Marina Grzinic is a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy at the Slovenian Academy of Science and Art in Ljubjana, Slovenia, and lecturer at the Academy of Visual Arts, Vienna. She is also active as a media theoretician, art critic and curator.

Martin Krenn, artist. In his work he investigates and treats social/political issues. He uses various media, including photography, video and internet to develop projects that take place in exhibitions and in the public space both virtually and physically.
www.martinkrenn.net

Willem van Weelden is a researcher, writer, visual artist and lecturer in the field of interactive media. He has been involved with many projects surrounding the topic of the social and political implications of media and information.

Zelimir Zilnik has been making and producing films in the former Yugoslavia since the 1960s. He was the founder of the production company Teresianum, and made television productions for the independent radio and television station B92 in Belgrade.
www.zelimirzilnik.net