[AMSTERDAM 2003]

   Participants:
      Lisa Parks
      Ginette Verstraete
      Ursula Biemann
      Angela Melitopoulos
      Rosi Braidotti
      Anneke Smelik
      Geert Lovink

Lisa Parks, Ginette Verstraete, Ursula Biemann, Angela Melitopoulos

The first half of the year was used to prepare our meeting, which took place in the week from June 23 - 28 at the University of Amsterdam. During this first of 4 work sessions, our individual research projects were discussed extensively. Starting by presenting previous works, we reflected on the treatment of content as well as our artistic and theoretical method used, to illustrate how we plan to further develop our approach in the present research project.

Each of us had chosen to engage in a work process that departed from her previous practice. Angela Melitopouls involved herself in a collaboration with cultural producers dispersed over 5 countries with whom she was to meet and coordinate hardware, content, personalities and artistic languages. Her Timescapes project was going to be as much about a collective editing process than about a final artistic product. Lisa Parks had conducted previous research on the Balkan for individual texts, yet this was to be a major project that would take her through the postwar landscape and into local archives to analyze the meaning of the contemporary manifestations of media and communications technologies in the region. Ursula Biemann continues to work on issues around transnationalism in a post socialist era but expressed the desire to experiment with conceptual forms of representation that will depart from the essayist narration.

These discussions were significant in view of the forthcoming field trips during the summer where we would collect material, gather information and shoot large amounts of video footage.

Another purpose of the meeting was the articulation of the commonalities and differences in our methods of working. In intensive brain storming sessions on the subject of relational geography, intermediality and migration we defined our priorities for the development and analysis of a visual language. These fundamental reflections form the basis for our collaboration that brings together diverse thematic foci (media, energy and migration landscapes) and politically and historically diverse regions (Balkan, Turkey and Caucasus).
Here are some key words that emerged during the brainstorming session which express unifying concerns among our projects:

Furthermore we invited Dutch guests to our meeting with whom we exchanged ideas and experiences on related projects. Rosi Braidotti and Anneke on related projects. Rosi Braidotti and Anneke Smelik from Gender Studies of the University Utrecht, a video curator from the art museum Antwerpen, Geert Lovink and two PhD students from the University of Amsterdam.

Text by Ursula Biemann