White Page Gallery — Art Curating and Human Values
Text by Anna Utopia Giordano, Zsolt Mesterhazy, Domenico Barra.
White Page Gallery/s is a decentralized and distributed art network born in June 2019: it is an online network for artistic sharing composed of artists, curators, academies, festivals and cultural operators who host independently on their website and without the aim of profit art projects made and curated by others.
The experiment is based on a new form of curatorial practice and culture in which the enjoyment of art is re-imagined thanks to the internet and web pages, and especially by active participation and collaboration by the participants.
White Page Gallery/s focus on the social value of artistic curation as its presupposition: the WPG/s network, is based on values such as solidarity, hospitality, inclusion, altruism and mutual support. A distinctive feature of White Page Gallery/s is the absence of hierarchies, gatekeepers and vanity: all those who are part of the network have, in fact, total and independent decision-making ability with respect to the methods, times and artistic projects they choose to exhibit in their online spaces. The focus is therefore shifted from the work to the practice and from the artist to the community.
Many people have joined the project over the months: each of them has chosen to make available a space, a web page of their website, to show and share the works of other creatives together sharing their time, work, knowledge and professional contacts. There are currently 25 hosts participating in the White Page Gallery/s project and all the galleries can be visited free of charge by anyone with an internet connection. These digital galleries, which differ from each other in the type of art hosted, the exhibition times and the type of exhibitions, are managed independently by the many who have joined the initiative. You can visit pages that host works of glitch art, digital sculptures, web art but also virtual spaces, animations, poetry, music and performing arts.
The Internet is an important resource: if it can be a useful means for artists to show their artistic portfolio or make their work known and promoted globally, in extraordinary cases it also proves to be an excellent way for art experiencing. The current world situation, the state of emergency and isolation we are going through, has led to the cancellation of many exhibitions, festivals, events and artistic representations: WPG/s, even more in these weeks of social distancing, promotes a series of initiatives with the aim of making the stay at home less boring and ease one’s mind from bad thoughts and pressure, making the best out of the free time in quarantine, working to make art viral and creativity contagious. The project wishes to affirm that its social practice is integral to its message and contribute by exercising this culture. The culture of, union and inclusion against the political agendas of -exit, walls and armored borders. Art can influence society for the best with its practices.
The WPG/s online are hosted by Zsolt Mesterhazy, Bjørn Magnhildøen, Fuori Visioni — Festival Arte Contemporanea, Lila Moore, Kamilia Kard, Konstantina Mavridou, Anna Utopia Giordano, Benjamin Gaulon & Dasha Ilina with NØ School Paris, Grace Kim Howard, Leandro Summo, Vuk Cosic, Sesma Ángel, Martha Hipley, Florian Kuhlmann, Karina Pálosi, forevermidi.com, Andrea Roccioletti, Patrick Lichty, Edoardo Gaudieri, Tiz Creel, Paul Hertz, Guido Segni, Systaime, Bob Georgeson, Inanimanti, Eric Souther, Domenico Barra.
And those have hosted works by Silvia Gatti, Joselyn McDonald, Alice Biazzi, Martina Menegon, Cristina Katja Angeloro, Nina Sobell, Edward Picot, Igor Intima Stromajer, Paul Wehby and Jeremy Hight, Rino Petrozziello, Ángela Leyva, Sara Bonaventura, Sara Goodman, Claudia Chirianni, Daniel Temkin, Negin Ehtesabian, Patrick Lichty, FEWSTR, Elena Romenkova, Christian Munk, Matheus Paier, Paul Hertz, Sofia Crespo, Andrew Pouliot, Paola Pinna, Yvana Samandova, Luca Moncaleano, SREC, Heinz Schielmann, detoune, Sonia Laura Armaniaco aka §vonica, Terry Trickett, Degard, Il Lavoro Cieco (Lello Voce, Paolo Fresu, Adele Pardi, Dario Comuzzi, Frank Nemola, Gianluca Abbate), Digitonica, Agnese Toni, Ricky Akasha, Alberto Cuteri, Alicja L. Wróblewska, Andrea Tanshapiri Pedrazzi, Borzan Zarevski, Faezeh Heydari, Hirotsugu Aisu, Ian Keaveny, Inari Porkka , Jawek Kwakman, José Irion Neto, Laura Karam, Maria Chiara Gagliardi, Un Artista Minimalista, Leonardo Barilaro, Charo Galura, Alex Sala, Alexandra Ehrlich Speiser, http://thereisamajorprobleminaustralia.com/, Noemi Capoccia, Render Fruit, Ronnie Sluik (ronnie s), Simone Cisarni, Systaime, Antonello Matarazzo, Dominik Podsiadly, Joubin Zargarbashi, Alex Zakkas, Matias E. Reyes, Kurt Tichy, Fenke Snelting, Dennis Pohl, Volumetric Units (students from the School of Fine Arts of the University of Ioannina, Greece. Stella Giannakoudi, Evangelia Exindara, Sofia Kotsoni, Ioanna Kourgiotou, Vereniki Kontodimou, Lina Geromichali, Charis Iasonidi, Hristos Maris, Maria Arapkoule, Kantia Gonata, Lefteris Delimpasis, Michalis Kotaidis, Anna Pritsi, Renevi Polonyfi and Nikoletta Fakiridou), Tina LaPorta, Mark Klink, William Basinski and Keiji Haino, Eric van Zuilen, Sonia Lara,Terry Trickett, Degard, Seeker_of_True-files, Toby Tatum, Ben Rosenthal, Sara Bonaventura, Jason Bernagozzi, Wrik Mead, Marcos Serafim, Karl Erickson, Enzo Cillo, Michael Fleming, Andrew Deutsch, Richard Hoagland, Michael Betancourtq, & Ollie Poppert.
Website: http://www.whitepagegallery.network
White Page Gallery/s Virtual Tour 15th of March 2020 hosted and curated by Martha Hipley: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/567809079
