Our extended Activating Fluxus network was recently hosted by the Fondazione Bonotto in Molvena, Italy, for our very first Fluxus Study Day and public panel “Activating Fluxus: In and out of the Archive,” the latter jointly organized by our project team and the Fondazione. This post, the second of two, is a summary of and reflection on the public panel presentation and discussion. You can view part one here.
They are not in an archive, but in a house, in a factory. Here they have never stopped being active.
— Luigi Bonotto
This panel brought together experts from a variety of Fluxus archives based to discuss the notion of activation within the archival space: Elke Algaier (Archiv Sohm), Lionel Bovier (MAMCO and Ecart Archive), Elke Gruhn (Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden), Laura Montanari and Alessandro Gazzotti (Pari&Dispari Archivio, Reggio Emilia), Patrizio Peterlini (Fondazione Bonotto), and Hubertus von Amelunxen (Archivio Conz).
Amongst the main questions posed were: How might Fluxus be activated from the archive? What actually is a Fluxus archive, and how do archival infrastructures impact the afterlife of Fluxus? What might activation mean, both conceptually and in practice, and in what ways might the notion of activation challenge commonsense understandings of reconstruction, re-enactment, and reproduction?
Notions of originality and authenticity, hospitality and accessibility, love and care emerged and were discussed throughout the day. In addition to the fascinating individual presentations, an interesting dynamic emerged amongst all presentations taken together as variations in attitudes towards archiving Fluxus between each archive, but also notably between private and public institutions, became apparent. Amongst these differences was the uniting concern for the care and continuity of the Fluxus legacy. To borrow the title of Laura Montanari and Alessandro Gazzoti’s presentation: Long Live Fluxus!
You can watch a recording of the panel on youtube by clicking this link.
Our deepest gratitude to all those who also worked behind the scenes to make this event possible including Enrica Sampong, Alberto Scordro and Daniela Wüthrich.
Activating Fluxus 