Simulacrum @ Motto Berlin
Simulacrum is an arts and culture magazine based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Since more than thirty years, it functions as an accessible and high-quality publication platform for students and experts from various fields to publish together under one theme. Simulacrum is a quarterly thematic publishing project that aims at fostering transdisciplinary connections among contributions that explore both historical and contemporary perspectives of the cultural landscape.
On the 14th of October Simulacrum is coming to Motto Berlin to celebrate the publication issue of the magazine’s 30th anniversary, het Reflectienummer. For this special issue the editors of Simulacrum delved into the archives and asked authors to reflect on their submissions, ranging from volume 1 (1992) to 29 (2020). These reflections offer us insight in the way that art, culture, and historiography have changed over the course of almost 30 years. However, the eleven reflections bundled in this issue do not only refer to the past. Reflecting is an exercise with an eye to the future; it is a moment of standing still, on how it was, how it is, and how it could be.
Continuing this exercise of reflection, editors Mirna Vrdoljak and Kenneth Geurts will hold a discussion on the blurring of boundaries across disciplines in the humanities, and the magazine’s role in adequately responding to the reciprocal influence between the academic and artistic sphere. Bearing in mind the magazine’s primary focus on art historical research thirty years ago, what can we learn from the contributions of het Reflectienummer? We will speak from our own experience with the diverging range of submissions in the past decade, as well as the questions that arise with the use of new media platforms and digital modes of archiving. There will also be a moment to introduce Simulacrum’s freshly printed autumnal newspaper on documenta fifteen, The documenta Issue.
18.30 Introduction to Simulacrum + talk at Motto Berlin (Skalitzer Str. 68), followed by drinks.
