International Congress 2012 in Zurich

The 45th AICA Congress will be held from 10th to 12th July 2012 at the University of Zurich. It is entitled «Writing with an Accent» and examines different forms of art critical writing, as they are practiced today worldwide.

The event will adopt a slightly different shape than previous AICA congresses. The focus is on art-critical texts and their discussion. We expect the speakers to present in a short form one or more texts (respectively parts of the text), which were published recently in their environment. Texts they consider either significant or symptomatic, particularly beautiful or ugly, especially smart or dumb, etc. Following these brief presentations, the texts and arguments of the speakers will be discussed - primarily by a moderator and a small group of specially prepared debaters who have already dealt with the matter in advance. Of course, contributions from the general public are welcome. Some presentations will be grouped together, so that the discussion between the various speakers is emphasised. The first and larger part of the Congress will bring together various examples from very  different cultural contexts. In a second, shorter part, we will specifically examine some of the texts, which were written about the documentation 13, which recently opened it's doors in Kassel - we will try to get some of the authors of these texts to Zurich for a round table.

All text (and text excerpts) are translated in English and Spanish or French. The discussions will be held in English if possible.

Personal report on the 45th congress