Crit Club is a performance by Cem A. where two teams debate an unrealistic question about art. We are often stuck between the binary of praise and non-engagement in the art sphere where people are increasingly hesitant to inhabit spaces of disagreement.
In the context of this performance, participants are humorously invited to engage in what could be termed a contextual performance—a departure from their usual roles as artists or curators, aimed at broadening their perspectives and bolstering their influence within their community. As the performance progresses, guests are challenged to navigate uncharted waters through roleplay and quick thinking, grappling with existential inquiries such as: Does their expertise illuminate the issue at hand, or does it falter in the face of adversity? Can they uphold their understanding of art world dynamics in a doomsday scenario? Do they embrace the given scenario, or do they seek to defy the confines imposed by the moderator?
By proposing an impossible-to-answer question, Crit Club creates a situation where ostensibly there’s nothing at stake – or so it seems.
Past speakers include Nikola Bojić, Kate Brown, Kara Chin, Ben Davis, Övül Ö. Durmuşoğlu, Özge Ersoy, Bettina Freimann, Moshtari Hilal, Steph Huang, Jitish Kallat, Renzo Martens, Molemo Moiloa, Ahmet Öğüt, Lucia Pietroiusti, Farid Rakun, Nora Sternfeld, Karim Sultan, Wang Tuo, Mi You and Abbas Zahedi.
Should All Artworks Be Publicly Owned or Privately Owned? (forthcoming)
with Özge Ersoy and Molemo Moiloa
The Couch by Het HEM, Zaandam, October 2024
Crit Club Workshop
as a part of Experimental Publics Symposium
documenta Institut, Kassel, October 2024
Is Technology Good for the Arts?
with Nikola Bojić, Bettina Freimann, Fette Sans and Abbas Zahedi
Organ Vida Festival, Zagreb, September 2024
Crit Club Workshop
as a part of Para Site Alternative School
Curated by Alice Wong and Stephanie Bailey in collaboration with Billy Tang, Celia Ho, Jessie Kwok, and Stefan Luk
Para Site, Hong Kong, September 2024
If you had to choose, would you keep the Venice Biennial or all other biennials?
with Ben Davis and Mi You
The Couch by Het HEM, Zaandam, September 2024
If one had to choose, should artworks be preserved or recycled after exhibiting?
with Farid Rakun and Övül Ö. Durmuşoğlu
The Couch by Het HEM, Zaandam, June 2024
What matters more: Artists or Artworks?
with Kara Chin, Jitish Kallat, Wang Tuo and Steph Huang, curated by Stephanie Bailey
Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, March 2024
Should art be sold for profit?
Should you know the artist while looking at an artwork?
Should you know the artist while looking at an artwork?
with Kate Brown, Moshtari Hilal, Ahmet Öğüt and Abbas Zahedi
Trauma Bar, Berlin, March 2024
Should museums exhibit only living artists or dead artists?
with Lucia Pietroiusti and Nora Sternfeld
The Couch by Het HEM, Zaandam, December 2023
If you had to choose, would you stop moving all artworks or selling or artworks?
with Renzo Martens and Karim Sultan
The Couch by Het HEM, Zaandam, October 2023