No goals! No results! Counter-Publics and Opacity in Self-Organized Anti-Academies in the Arts

Following examples from St. Petersburg and Dakar, the talk will inquire into the political landscape in which »non-validated«, or »opaque« forms of knowledge are brought into play. In an act of mimicry to academic infrastructures, the aim of these artist-run academies is often to »de-school« and un-learn what are considered traditional epistemologies and institutions of knowledge. From a curatorial studies perspective, the lecture will introduce such artistic and curatorial knowledge practices and the politics of learning they operate in. Olga Schubert is a cultural worker and editor at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin, where she co-curated the New Alphabet School (2019–2022) and the Dictionary of Now project (2015–19), among other projects.