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The Artist as Mediator: An Interview with Marjetica Potrč Written by Janeil Engelstad Sunday, 13Ab oJulyut D2014istribut o21:40rs Online Issues Printed Issues Shoot the Breeze Store Video Based in Ljubljana and Berlin, Marjeti- Rcaa cPotrčhel de deals Jood ewith issues of social space and contemporary architectural practices, sustainability, and new solutions for com- munities. Her practice is strongly informed by her interdisciplinary collaborations in research-based, on-site projects, such as Théâtre Evolutif (Bordeaux, 2011), The Cook, the Farmer, His Wife and Their Neighbour (Stedelijk Goes West, Am- sterdam, 2009), and Dry Toilet (Caracas, 2003). She translates these investigations into text-based drawings and large-scale architectural installations ("case studies"). Her work has been featured in exhibi- tions throughout Europe and the Americas, including the São Paulo (1996, 2006) and Venice biennials (1993, 2003, 2009). She has received numerous grants and awards, including the Hugo Boss Prize (2000) and the Vera List Center for Arts and Politics Fellowship at The New School in New York (2007). Since 2011, she has been a professor at the University of Fine Arts/HFBK in Hamburg. potrc.org "I have three different practices in my life. One is on-site participatory projects, which I do in collaboration with other professionals and with my students. The second is architectural studies, and the third is drawing narratives." - Potrč Janeil Engelstad: Could you talk about the role of collaboration in your work? How do you see collaborative and interdisciplinary practices and research contrib- uting solutions to critical problems, such as issues connected to climate change? Marjetica Potrč: For several years, I have been focused on participatory proj- ects with my students in Hamburg.(1) We do projects using participatory practic- es in places around the world. In fall 2013, we did a project in Belgrade where we worked with residents of the Savamala neighborhood in the tradition of learning by doing. The students became acquainted with a number of crafts practiced in the neighborhood and learned about the social and economic systems that support the crafts. The goal was to create an open-source manual, an analysis Various Qualities To Orbit The Mysterious Core, 2013 of present-day ways of working and living in Savamala. But we managed to do much more than that. We set up two spaces that the community can now use: StudioI nKM8,tervie wa bspacey Whi tnforey Msharingallett knowledge and skills, and Župa, an old boat docked by the riverbank that is being transformed into a community center. When I went to visit Rachel de Joode in her studio this Fall, she said we were going to try making a “squish.” This process consisted of filling a plastic tube with wet plaster and me hugging it likeArt a lMargins,over, leav Julying a2014n imprint of my body, until it dried. There are four steps to doing participatory projects: The first step is to listen and talk with the residents where you are working; the second step is to involve the community in the decision making; the third step is to involve the community in the construction process; and the fourth step is co-create with the community a project that they can continue after you leave the site. JE: Creating a project that is sus- tainable over the long term. About Distributors Online Issues Printed Issues Shoot the Breeze Store Video MP: Sustainability is a word that Rachel dhase J obeenode overused, and it doesn't really mean very much anymore. But yes, if you want to engage the power of citizens in shaping the cit- ies they live in, then this is exact- ly what sustainable development should be about. We try to be on location for two months at a time. This gives the students a chance to Marjetica Potrč, “Notes on Participatory Design, no. 6,” understand the site and the peo- 2011, ink on paper, 8.2 x 11.6 in. Image courtesy of the artist. ple who live there, their challeng- es and expectations. It also allows them how to change their own perspectives and share knowledge and practices. And then, a magical moment comes when they are able to construct something new in collaboration with the residents. I am not talking about a new architectural structure; I am talking about social architecture, which for me is very important. We are interested in people. In Savamala, we worked with the residents for two months so they could then start constructing their own spaces. I am talking about place making, not public space. Any group that wants to be recognized in society needs to have a physi- cal space—a place. People often talk about some abstract notion of public space that is good for everyone and so on. But when you talk about place making, you understand that having a space is something down to earth. People need it to ground themselves, their ideas and desires. It is a chance for people to build a community from the ground up; their group identity becomes strong when they can actually build a truly shared space. These bottom-up initiatives are a poten- tial force for democracy. JE: As you work across countries and the old "East-West" divide, how do you see public space functioning across society today? What differences, if any, do you perceive in the use and role of public space? How do you see the culture, history and/or politics influencing our ideas around the use of public space? MP: I have never understood the termVarious Q"publicualities To Ospace,"rbit The Mys tbecauseerious Core, 2 0for13 me public space has been corrupted. The so-called "public space" is not free and shared by all. My public art projects always happen in a private space or in a community Interview by Whitney Mallett space. In this way, the project becomes a tool for rebuilding the notion of shared space and the idea of what "public" means. What is happening in European cities, both EastWhe andn I w West,ent to isvi sthatit Ra youche l havede Jo thisode iamazingn her stu dpushio th ifors F acommunityll, she said wgardens.e were g oing to try making a “squish.” This process consisted of filling a plastic tube with wet plaster and me hugging it likeArt a lMargins,over, leav Julying a2014n imprint of my body, until it dried. The important thing about community gardens is not only the cultivation of a city's green spaces and growing vegetables, but also the fact that they are ac- tual political schoolrooms where you can reclaim your community, reclaim your neighborhood, and reclaim your city. It is a simple process that originates in people engaging with the community garden. Community gardens have become relational objects: they are tools for changing the culture of living.(2) JE: And in that place, is the artwork the change? It is the result of your actions, rather thanA btheout action Distrib itself,utors whichOnline I scansues comePrinte dfrom Issues project-based Shoot the Breeze work? Store Video MP: I made two drawings titled NotesR onac hParticipatoryel de Joode Design that illustrate the relationships between art and culture. Art is a tool to change culture, and when culture changes, it follows that the artist, art, and architecture also change. JE: In 2006, you participated in The Lost Highway Expedition (LHE), where over 300 artists traveled through nine cities in the Western Balkans and engaged in cultural production. You created both drawing narratives and architectural case studies in response to this research trip; much of it in response to the famous, highly decorated houses in Tirana and Prishtina. Could you talk about this proj- ect, the work that emerged and how you see the houses functioning in society? Do these colorful expressions merely reflect people's creativity and individualism, or do they collectively hold people together in a way that builds and strengthens community in the post-socialist era? MP: When we traveled in the Western Balkans it was after the war and the politi- cal changes. People were still talking about the war, but no one was talking about the society that was being built after the war, or the values of the society that was building the new cities. In many places, there was a lack of engagement by the state, and this created a need for self-organization by people on the ground and for the reconstruction of the society. The crazy, decorated houses we saw were proud houses. By constructing their homes in personalized styles—pseudo-Byz- Various Qualities To Orbit The Mysterious Core, 2013 MarjeticaI nPotrč,tervi e“Prishtinaw by W hHouse,”itney M 2007.allet tSource photograph (left). Photo by Fred Dott. Image courtesy of Marjetica Potrč. Artist’s work (right). “This Place is my Place - Begehrte Orte,” Kunstverein, Hamburg, Germa- ny. Private Collection. Image courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin/Stockholm. DESCRIPTION: PrishtinaW Househen isI wa caseent tstudyo vi sofit aR houseache lin d thee J Peytonoode iPlacen he neighborhoodr studio th iofs FPrishtina.all, she After sai dthe w collapsee were ofg oing modernism, the citizens of Prishtina began building their houses in a wide range of styles, each expressing the taste of theto towner.ry ma Ink iPrishtina,ng a “s qtheui scitizensh.” T hhaveis p becomerocess the co nsmallestsisted state. of filling a plastic tube with wet plaster and me hugging it likeArt a lMargins,over, leav Julying a2014n imprint of my body, until it dried. antine, pseudo-Oriental, and so on—the residents were celebrating the new so- ciety they were co-creating.

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