Chris Joseph

http://www.bak-utrecht.nl

BAK, basis voor actuele kunst is currently seeking a committed, visionary curator to fill a newly created position on its team and contribute to its activities. BAK, located in Utrecht, the Netherlands, is an internationally recognized space dedicated to thinking from, about, and through art, and is invested in the exploration and empowerment of two vital relationships: the link between art and the public sphere, and the alliance between artistic practice and theory.

BAK initiates research on diverse subjects of urgency that are key to the pursuit of these crucial relationships in art, and together with artists and other cultural practitioners realizes projects such as exhibitions, lectures, education, publications, and significant productions of new work. BAK places equal emphasis on these diverse activities. Exemplified by practices of participation, discursivity, production, flexibility, fluidity, and criticality, BAK’s approach constitutes a way of thinking and acting, a process of development, and a continuous activation of the possibility of art. BAK understands art in the expanded sense as a uniquely open field of possibilities inside society in which various discourses (aesthetic, cultural, political, social, economic, and others) intersect and exchange.

The ideal curator would feel a strong affinity with BAK’s philosophy and working methods and be ready to contribute her/his energy, intellectual capacities, creativity, vision, and ethical commitment to the diverse tasks at hand. This individual’s interests should be broad, but grounded in a vision of contemporary art as practice in active dialogue with the contemporary world and its concerns. She/he would demonstrate a strong inclination towards the activities of exhibition making and the conception and development of theory and discourse-oriented programs. The curator will have the intellectual independence and confidence to collaborate closely with the artistic director and orient her/himself within a small team and the conceptual framework of BAK, bringing new ideas and possibilities for collaboration to the fore. As continuity is an underlying principle of all BAK’s activities, the curator would readily express a serious, long-term commitment to the position.

Interested individuals are encouraged to contact BAK (info [at] bak-utrecht.nl) for application materials. Completed applications are accepted from the date of this announcement until 8 September 2008. We regret that we are unable to accommodate phone inquiries.

The IOCT is delighted to announce that on Wed 16 July 2008, IOCT Visiting Professor Howard Rheingold will be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Technology at De Montfort University.

IOCT Director, Professor Andrew Hugill, said: “IOCT colleagues have been working with Howard since the Institute was opened in 2005 and we have greatly appreciated the time and energy he has put into helping us attend to social media in all its forms. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Howard as he develops his Social Media Classroom sponsored by HASTAC and the MacArthur Foundation.”

DMU’s graduations take place at De Montfort Hall, Leicester. Vice Chancellor Professor Philip Tasker said: “Our graduation ceremonies are the highlight of the academic year when we mark and celebrate the achievements of our students. Their success is a source of pride not just to the University, but also to the city of Leicester. De Montfort University has a long history and tradition of being an academic institution at the very heart of the city, of its businesses and industry and of its cultural life and it is a tradition the institution and its students hold dear.”