Z.O.U. - Zone of Urgency

15 June - 2 November 2003

Curator: Hou Hanru

26 artists and groups
(see the list of participants)

Venue: Arsenale

Photos

View of the exhibition at the Arsenale

For a long time, Chinese born curator Hou Hanru has been concerned with the explosive expansion of today’s megalopolises, primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. Hence, together with Hans-Ulrich Obrist, he curated the exhibition "Cities on the Move" (which started in 1997).

He now once again focuses on this thematic area. Hou Hanru says that the cities are "zones of urgency ", in the sense that they have "become a collage of zones created out of urgent demands instead of regular planning". Artists, intellectuals and other activists, together with architects and urban planners, attempt to react to this with corresponding projects and actions. In the process, a new type of art is created which becomes an essential element in the redefinition of contemporary culture and ways of life.

Hou Hanru wants Z.O.U. to be understood as a project in which a quick-moving, interactive trend in experimental art articulates itself. Such art practices, usually interventionist or performance-based, become real forces of social transformation and develop alternative strategies of resistance.

A number of participants from Europe and other parts of the world were invited, in addition to the Asian participants who make up the majority. This fact should emphasize that the "urgency" is global.

See the curatorial text

Curator Hou Hanru guides a group of visitors through his exhibition.