Pitch presentation: (In)formal learning

VENUE: Casino Display, 1, rue de la Loge, L-1945 Luxembourg 

In English

The academic year 2024-25 marks an important turning point in Casino Display's programming. In fact, its artistic research lab is moving into a beta phase before becoming a fully-fledged post-master's programme in collaboration with ENSAD Nancy and HEAR. With this in mind, for this edition of Pitch Presentation, presented in collaboration with Kultur | lx and Elektron, we will be looking at the question of learning, whether formal or informal, in a variety of environments and circumstances, in collaboration with artificial intelligence, bees and much more.      

Klaus Speidel is an art and image theorist, academic philosopher, art critic and curator. He studied philosophy and art history in Munich (LMU) and Paris (École normale supérieure, Sorbonne). In addition to numerous academic publications on subjects related to art, narrative, representation, style, drawing and the digital, Klaus Speidel writes about art and images for Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Standard, Spike, artpress or The Art Newspaper and in catalogues, for example for the Centre Pompidou, the Schirn Kunsthalle, mumok, the Belvedere or Mudam.

In 2015, Klaus Speidel was awarded the AICA France art critic prize. He has curated exhibitions in Germany, Austria and France and teaches at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and the Paris College of Art. He is currently writing a book on artificial intelligence and art.

Mike Bourscheid’s sculpture- and performance-based practice draws from theater with scenographic elements such as set design, props and costumes and often involves his fabrication of ungainly or ridiculous appendages and prosthetics, in order to channel alternate personae as a device for addressing aspects of masculinity, European pomposity, and patriarchal power.  

Mike Bourscheid represented Luxembourg at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, and his recent exhibitions include an exhibition at Richmond Art Gallery (Canada), 1646 (The Hague), LIAR NYC (USA) and Heidelberger Kunstverein (Germany). Mike Bourscheid has a current solo exhibition at Galerie Nosbaum Reding (Brussels) as well as upcoming exhibitions at FAB Gallery (Edmonton, Canada) and AXENÉO (Gatineau, Canada). Mike Bourscheid is based in Luxembourg and Brussels. 

Alexandra Uppman (b.1991) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish and Luxembourgish artist, currently based in Luxembourg. A graduate of the Ecole de Recherche Graphique in Brussels, her artistic practice is deeply connected to nature, especially the forest, which acts as a bridge between her different homelands. 

Through her work, she explores themes of belonging, home, and agricultural folklore, with strong influences from metal music culture. Her preferred mediums are oil-based charcoal on paper and sculpture, and she has worked with atmospheric installations that aim to immerse the viewer in her world of natural and folkloric aesthetics. 

Her latest research project, Hive Dreams, was inspired by HIVES, 2400 B.C.E. – 1852 C.E., a book by Aladin Borioli that documents ancient beekeeping methods before the modern hive. This sparked further exploration into wild bee populations in Luxembourg, during an artist residency (Squatfabrik) at Kulturfabrik in Esch-sur-Alzette (LU). Through this research, Alexandra has deepened her understanding of the challenges facing wild bees today, particularly the loss of natural habitats. 

Sam Krack is a Luxembourg artist who lives and works in Sète, France. He collects insignificant details from his everyday environment to make the unremarkable and the almost futile tangible. This is achieved mainly by working on existing images. His reference images are designed with a specific function in mind, which is not primarily to please. Sam focuses on banal, ordinary and unappealing images that are drowned out by the mass, and that oppose the logic of selection in the age of digital image manipulation and enhancement.

Using ‘poor’ images as raw material, he deconstructs the visual flow in a succession of shifts: from the screen and the interface to the pictorial surface, from the world of the media to that of painting or printing, and from information to silence. Translation in painting contrasts slowness and subjectivity with the triviality and truism of the source images.

Partners:

Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg is a public establishment whose mission is to support and accompany Luxembourg culture and creativity. Kultur | lx works hand in hand with players on the cultural scene to network and support the career development of Luxembourg artists.

Elektron is a platform for art, digital technology, science and society in Esch-sur-Alzette. Through exhibitions, public art installations and events, Elektron is shaping up to be a must-see programme for art and digital specialists and curious minds alike, facilitating dialogue between art, technology, science and social issues.

Illustration: Claire Buchler, un_learning © courtesy of the artist