Contemporaneo.doc/DOCVA
3015 portfolio of young Italian artists, two jukeboxes with 150 videos of the artists present in the MAXXI collection, 5 online databases, and projections of exhibitions and events organized by Careof and Viafarini in Milan, tell a radically new way of experiencing contemporary creativity where the true protagonists are research, collection, consultation, and interaction with the public.
MAXXI BASE is the museum’s research center that houses the Library, Archives, Studios and Publishing. Contemporaneo.doc/DOCVA is the first event in a series dedicated to the most important national and international contemporary art archives. Born from the work of two Italian associations (Careof and Viafarini), DOCVA is one of the most active Italian archives, founded in Milan in 1991 modeled after the American non-profit system. Created with the aim of promoting the professional growth of artists and curators and raising public awareness of contemporary art, it combines exhibition and educational activities with documentation services on the visual arts.
MAXXI BASE positions itself as a reference point for the documentation of contemporary visual arts and intends to develop research and information activities that broaden the audience interested in contemporary art: the exhibition Contemporaneo.doc/DOCVA, using a great variety of media, ideas, and languages, is the result of this effort.
The space of the Sala Gian Ferrari is designed as a dynamic and interactive area to showcase DOCVA’s know-how in organizing complementary services such as the Library, Portfolio Archive, Video Archive, Portfolio Viewing Service, Video Production and Documentation, and the Artbox Opportunities Database.
The installation, designed by Ghigos ideas, allows the public to directly consult artists’ portfolios, access the 5 online databases – all available at www.docva.org – and explore two jukeboxes with videos of artists featured in the MAXXI collection, sourced from the DOCVA Archive, supported by cultural mediators specially trained by DOCVA, MAXXI, and the University La Sapienza of Rome.
Meetings and debates will open the exhibition to contributions from artists, critics, curators, and specialists from other disciplines. A section of the exhibition will also be periodically enriched with the display of portfolios selected through the OPEN CALL ROMA – Archivio Aperto.
With the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo
Program
December 16, 6 PM
Anche gli artisti vanno al cinema curated by Mario Gorni, a meeting with artists about research between art and cinema using materials from the DOCVA Video Archive
January 20, 6 PM
A ruota libera curated by Chiara Agnello and Milovan Farronato — performances, actions, and presentations by artists who have participated in DOCVA’s exhibition activities
February 10, 6 PM
Archiviare memorie curated by Patrizia Brusarosco, Mario Gorni, Chiara Agnello, and Milovan Farronato — a roundtable discussion on the role of archives in preserving and promoting contemporary artistic research; DOCVA compared with other Italian models; new artistic perspectives on archiving; foundation of the multicultural section
Bio
MAXXI BASE, (Library, Archives, Studies, Publishing) is the museum’s research center documenting the artistic and architectural landscape from the 1960s to today. It preserves volumes, periodicals, artist books, videos, photographs, and heterogeneous materials on both paper and digital media. Designed as a space to enhance research, it is an open, usable, and accessible place for everyone.
