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As a follow up of eipcp’s transnational project republicart (2002-2005, http://republicart.net) TRANSFORM continues the research on political and artistic practices of institutional critique during the years 2005-2008. With a setup of exhibitions and discursive events in Europe TRANSFORM will investigate the relationship between institution and critique along three lines that overlap in some points, but principally are to be differentiated.

1. The line of art production. The thesis here is that following the two phases of institutional critique in the 1970s and the 1990s, now a new phase of critique is emerging, which goes beyond the two earlier phases, particularly as a combination of social critique, institutional critique, and self-critique.
2. The line of art institutions. Here questions will be raised about the development of radical positions taken by critical art institutions, not only against the background that open, socially critical art associations, museums and initiatives are increasingly under pressure, partly from authoritarian repressive cultural policies, partly from neoliberal populist cultural policies. Beyond this defensive figure and the question of counter-strategies, new forms of the organization of critical art institutions are to be reflected on.
3. The line of the relationship of institution and critique as movement: at this most general level the question of the mutual interrelationship of institution and movement, machines and state apparatuses is to be addressed, and how this relationship can be made productive in the sense of emancipatory policies and beyond the abrupt demarcation between the two poles.

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