Dear Ladies, Thank You is an evolving performance that has been presented in several variations. The common thread that connects all versions is the discourse of the underrepresentation of women in art history, art theory, art institutions, and in the broader collective memory. The content and the visual aspect of the performance vary according to the context within which it is presented, and according to the gathered findings of previous performances. One of the issues that have become apparent in the previous performances is the need of a permanent monument. Consequently, the central aim of the new performance will be to produce a permanent mark during the performance.
In the performance, Čigon will pronounce the names of women artists that she has previously learned by heart. At the same time, she will write them down on the floor of Metelkova with a permanent paint. The majority of these names will be of artists who have presented their work at one of the Red Dawns festivals. With this action, Čigon wants to permanently mark this area, and create a monument both for the Red Dawns, in specific, and for feminist and queer art in general. Metelkova is also characterized by other spaces and organizations that deal with similar topics. This is why Čigon will attempt to symbolically link them all with the line of names of the women artists in question. On one hand, the line will mark Metelkova space as one of those places that carry a rich history of organizations, groups, and festivals, and which have been, and still are, dealing with the social status of women and other invisible groups, LGBTIQ in particular. On the other hand, the line of the names will also be an attempt to symbolically connect this area with the nearby institutions, which can be seen as the ones that care for, and preserve, the history of art and of contemporary artistic canon. The performance will begin at the Trg brez zgodovinskega spomina (Square with No Historical Memory) in front of Menza pri koritu.
Ana Čigon completed her undergraduate studies in Painting and postgraduate studies in Video at the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts and Design. She also received an MA in Interface Cultures in Kunstuniversität Linz in Austria. She mainly works in the areas of video, performance and new media. In her latest art projects, she is dealing with feminist topics, focusing on the issue of underrepresentation of women in the art world, and the importance of the reevaluation of the history of art. More: anacigon.si
*In case of bad weather , the performance will be moved onto another date.
The performance is a part of Urban Art Projects, which are produced by KUD Mreža.
Please check Red Dawns web page for details.
Free entry.
Producent by: City of Women.
Organisation: Red Dawns.
Supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, City Municipality of Ljubljana.
