Before We Go Down in History (We Have to Make a Living) II 

This last session of Before We Go Down in History (We Have to Make a Living) aims to be a moment for reflection that serves to plan other, future meetings, above (or below) and beyond [contra]panorama and the museum itself. It is a matter of understanding the fragility of our times and of seeking the strategies for mutual support, solidarity and political work we so urgently need to ensure our survival. 

“The future has arrived – it’s just not evenly distributed yet.” This slogan, attributed to William Gibson some twenty years ago, seems to have taken on a new validity. We are not just awaiting this pending redistribution, but the technology on which our idea of the future was based is serving as an engine for a rising extractivism and savage inequality. 

Cultural work, mostly insecure and sometimes not even recognised as work, seems destined to disappear or to become a class privilege. In Spain, the demands of cultural workers have generally been addressed to the central Government or else reduced to the level of the arts institutions that, to a greater or lesser extent, represent it. The – politically non-negotiable – idea that the future must at some point grant us this elusive redistribution, that the future must be better than the present, underlies these demands. However, at a time when neoliberalism is threatening to give way to the nightmare of a capitalism without democracy, what is to be done? While it is beyond doubt that there are urgent reforms (fiscal, legislative and so on) that might aid more equal access to cultural work, is it enough to state these demands as we have done for decades? Are there tools we can develop as a group to assure our own survival? 

related activities

2 activities

Before We Go Down in History (We Have to Make a Living) II. 2nd Session 

A gathering to discuss the status of artist as workers in the Spanish legal system, with PAAC. [contra]panorama

activity
Thursday April 10, 2025

Before We Go Down in History (We Have to Make a Living). 1st Session 

With Laura Benítez Valero and The White Pube. [contra]panorama

activity
Wednesday April 9, 2025

In 2021, MACBA launched the triennial Panorama, which aimed to “deepen its collaboration and dialogue with local artists and cultural agents”. [contra]panorama, the second edition of Panorama retains the same aim but works towards it through a year-long series of interventions that take the project’s title literally, in order to question both the continuing relevance of the triennial (or biennial) format and its capacity to offer a panoramic image of the present.

participants

Laura Benítez Valero

Plataforma Assembleària d’Artistes de Catalunya (PAAC)

The White Pube

curated by

Alicia Escobio Alonso

Yaiza Hernández

Yolanda Jolis

Anna Ramos

Isaac Sanjuan

WITH THE SUPPORT OF

_{Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.}