The Value of Nothing reflected on shifts in thinking about the concept of value and economy, with new projects, Fieldwork Residencies and an intensive public programme. The project was curated by Jesse van Oosten and Michiel van Dartel.
In the aftermath of the global economic crisis, a number of questions are becoming increasingly urgent: how can we arrive at alternative interpretations of the concept of value, in addition to the current financial-economic standards? What are possible other forms of economic exchange? And what do these alternatives mean for the way in which value manifests itself?
Alternative value systems
The Value of Nothing presented artistic practices and projects that arise from, or focus on, deviant economies, new value systems and alternative work strategies. The artists involved expose value in places that the regular market ignores, such as Jeanne van Heeswijk in the Afrikaanderwijk, or show how trade in a global economy also means non-monetary cultural exchange, such as the artistic exchange office of Meschac Gaba. Others delved into the philosophical idea behind the distribution of goods and showed its beauty, such as Remco Torenbosch, or offered concrete possibilities for tax avoidance, such as Paolo Cirio.
Fieldwork Residencies
The Value of Nothing showed new and existing work, let artists test their ideas in practice, but also brought that practice inside. Gil & Moti, Roel Roscam Abbing, Kym Ward, Oblique International and Weronika Zielinska each went to work at a Rotterdam company. There they developed proposals that addressed topics such as hospitality, the notion of work, or the politics behind the infrastructure of the internet in a radically different way. These proposals were presented at Fieldwork Fridays on 3 en October 24 2014 and subsequently became part of the exhibition.
Debate
For the public program, curator and writer Nat Muller presented the diptych Breaking the Bank (October 16 en November 13 2014) in which she, in conversation with academics, journalists and other experts, investigated how art, value and the global economy are interrelated. In a research trajectory for students of the Erasmus University College, the themes from the exhibition were discussed and investigated.
The exhibition was made possible by: DOEN Foundation, SNS REAAL Fund, Mondriaan Fund
With thanks to: NetExpert, Hotel Van Walsum, VS Cleaning BV, Marco Tieleman Coaching.