Five artists, Luna Acosta, Yael Davids, Pablo Martínez, Vlatka Horvat and Tim Etchells, researchers and cultural workers engaged through i-Portunus Houses mobility program in researching ways in which various methodologies, approaches and formats of critical pedagogy are able to contribute to forming of critical and analytical basis of responsible and engaged contemporary art production.

Luna Acosta's talk, masterclass and workshop built on her practice and research addressing the phenomenons which play a role in the migratory flows. Acosta's approach was participatory and engaging in continuous communication with participants through collaborative work inside and outside of the space of Gallery Nova.

I believe that every space has its own way of learning and interests. That’s why my approach changes depending on the place and how much I know about the community with which I am going to work.

‍Luna Acosta: Artist talk Elusive Flow, 7.4., Gallery Nova, Zagreb

Luna Acosta: Masterclass and workshop, 8. – 9.4., Gallery Nova, Zagreb

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Yael Davids engaged in seeking alternative perspectives on how we conceptualise and practice pedagogical values, with the body in the centre of the art structure. She used the Feldenkrais method where participants become aware of their abilities and movement habits appliying that to other learning systems.

When teaching artists I talk about technique, I'm aware that I would like to facilitate them with tools and instruments, to help them to become independent as artists.

Yael Davids: Feldenkrais Lesson, 9.4., DAZ, Zagreb

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Pablo Martínez worked on rethinking the relation between gestures and bodies in public space and through art practices through the elements of lecture, and participatory group work.

One of the most important things to do in contemporary art education is to generate spaces for debate, free speech and security.

Pablo Martínez: Workshop, 11.-14.5., Youth Center Ribnjak, Zagreb

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Vlatka Horvat explored dialogic encounters between themselves and elements of the outside world. Through a series of practical experiments, discussions and engagement with other artists’ works, they approached dialogue as a central proposition for thinking through the ways in which we make work and engage with the world.

Working in any mode, I look at what opportunities that mode might offer and I try to find a way of working that actively engages both its possibilities and limitations.

Vlatka Horvat: Workshop, 11.-14.5., Youth Center Ribnjak, Zagreb

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Tim Etchells virtual encounters explored approaches to performance, composition and work with text. Etchells encountered and created with the participants through a set of exercises, experiments and conversations focused on making, observing and refining the possibilities of performance improvisation.

I’m interested in the possibilities of online space, especially the way it provides an opportunity for synchronous but geographically distributed co-presence - basically sharing virtual space with other people, whilst at the same time remaining in different locations.

Tim Etchells: Thinking Back to What You Said, lecture and conversation with Vlatka Horvat, online, 25.4.

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Tim Etchells: Masterclass and workshop, online, 25.-26.4.

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Digital outputs by all 5 team members included their reflections on critical and experimental pedagogy in various formats. Their thoughts and visuals can be found on the blog section of WHW Akademija web.

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Through this project WHW created for i-Portunus team members space and time for retreat and research but also to engage in further exploration and networking through studio visits, meetings with actors of local and international cultural and civil scene, as well as engaging with each other through participation in their activities.

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The i-Portunus Houses pilot scheme is implemented, on behalf of the European Commission, by a consortium of organisations that have been pioneers of European cultural mobility programmes themselves. Coordinated by the European Cultural Foundation (Amsterdam), the i-Portunus Houses consortium involves MitOst (Berlin) as main mobility implementer and the Kultura Nova Foundation (Zagreb) as lead in evaluation and analysis.

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