July 7, 2021
Momentum 11 takes place across various sites in Moss, Norway Photo: Eivind Lauritzen
The eleventh edition of Moss, Norway’s Momentum biennial
opened last weekend without its curator, and without the support of a number of
the artists originally scheduled to participate, The Art Newspaperreports.
Organizers last month fired the event’s Paris-based curator, Théo-Mario
Coppola, citing poor professional conduct on Coppola’s part that caused
“irreparable damage” to the relationship between curator and team. Rather than
hire a new curator, the organizers, under the leadership of director Dag Aak
Sveinar, went ahead and presented the biennial Coppola had curated, titled
“House of Commons” and comprising a reader, a website, and a series of events
as well as a number of new commissions.
“The institution adds insult to injury … They
would like to make the situation look like a conflict, but this is clearly
predation and appropriation.” from Coppola, who contended that they were
subjected to unfair working conditions and insufficient instruction regarding
technical and installation preparation, and thus encountered difficulty in
coordinating international projects.
At least seven participating artists withdrew or have
demanded the withdrawal of their works, among them Italian multidisciplinary
artist Marinella Senatore and Polish painter Karol Radziszweski, both of whom
were commissioned to present new works there.
Dag Aak Sveinar. Photo: Galleri F 15.
Senatore said that Momentum’s organizers ignored her
emails and produced her installation without her approval. “Even when I
requested my withdrawal, they persisted to show my work, even though I never
signed a contract,” she said. “This is unacceptable.” Radziszweski also was
surprised to learn that the organizers planned to display his work without his
approval. “I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life,” he said. “A
biennale removing a curator and proceeding to go ahead despite numerous
requests to have my work removed.”
In its statement, Momentum, which is directed by Dag Aak
Sveinar, claims to have an obligation to proceed despite protests from the
artists and curator. “We have an ethical and contractual obligation to the
artist-practitioners and to our community to do so. We also have similar
obligations towards our employees and collaborators,” the statement reads.
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