CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST. THE EXPANDED MAP
Second CEI Venice Forum for Contemporary Art Curators
Venezia, UNESCO-ROSTE Palazzo Zorzi, Castello 4930
7 - 8 June 2005

Tuesday 7 June 2005
9.30am-1pm – 2.30pm-6pm

Wednesday 8 June 2005
9.30am-1pm
CB Working Group: 2.30pm-5pm

One of the tasks which the experts will have to face in the years to come is a revised and integral map of European history of art, taking into account the valid artistic contributions from those countries which have been considered peripheric when compared to the influential sphere of the great “European” artistic centres. That this should be carried out without delay is demonstrated by the attention already shown, in particular to the artistic production of those countries with recent access to the E.U. Moreover, the work of those contemporary artists who have clearly contributed to the construction of a common cultural history should be made available to all of Europe, old and new.
The entire art system is called to task and the present work in the geographical area taken into consideration is anything but homogeneous. The general plans of cultural politics, public and private promotion, the availability of funds, the formation of artists and experts in the sector, curatorial management, channels and priority of divulgation, even the legislation concerned, are all radically different-- hence the urgent and extremely stimulating need to compare these different realities in order to create a new, common structure. The confrontation of models, goals and the role of art curators in a variegated panorama like the one offered by Central Eastern Europe, verifying the instruments they dispose of, can also introduce useful arguments for reflection and for facing a long awaited issue: the recognition of the state of art criticism today.

These reflections form the basis of the general introduction to the debate programme which the Trieste Contemporanea Committee is preparing, in collaboration with the Unesco Office of Venice, for the 2005 Forum for Contemporary Art Curators from Central Eastern Europe, which will be held in Venice on the 7th and 8th of June at the UNESCO- ROSTE seat (Palazzo Zorzi).
The meeting will be the third edition of a biennial event conceived to be open to Central Eastern European curators and mainly directed at the commissioners of the Venice Biennale responsible for the national pavilions of the CEE countries. For this reason it has availed from the onset the support of CEI (Central Europe Initiative) which, after the experimental edition of 2001, adopted the Venice Forum as one of its primary cultural projects.
The CEI Venice Forum 2005 is a part of the international co-curatorial project “Continental Breakfast” which Trieste Contemporanea proposed to activate to the 2003 forum participants.

The Continental Breakfast project fosters and supports the creation of partnership projects and multidimensional capacity building exchange programmes in the field of contemporary art in Central Eastern Europe. As a starting point for the development of future cultural networks, for 2004-2006 it is a joint activity of the partner institutions leading to a series of exhibitions which will open in a number of selected venues in Autumn-Winter 2005. It basically deals with the perception of the "other" in and beyond the new Europe and with the mutual recognition of a common European identity. It aims at studying the common cultural foundations, more or less consciously and historically rooted in the very cultural background of the different areas. In other words, it will entail identifying in the different European regions, existing elements that can enhance the richness of a common and original cultural identity of Europe. The title itself of the project defines a type of breakfast that is common throughout Europe: a menu which appears to be the same everywhere but in fact acquires different tastes and values as a result of local cultural variations.

Following the main theme on identity of the Continental Breakfast project, the Venice Forum would give a joint approach on the new curatorial practices of the Central Eastern Europe professionals. Calling experts from the CEE countries to take part in this stage of investigation will be an attempt to find answers to the questions that are arising in the specific field of promotion of Contemporary Art as the European Union is expanding significantly.
The coming edition of the forum has therefore a particular meaning, being the first occasion to update the debate with a special focus on eventual developments and modifications due to an extended Europe. In this sense the subtitle, Expanded Map has to be read.
Besides the presentation of contributions by the representatives of most CEI countries, it will include study cases and comprehensive debates within small focused groups and with the public, involving the EU recently acceded countries, candidate countries and those whose real chances of joining the EU are very low.