Playing by the Rules: Alternative Thinking/Alternative Spaces

The perceived rules of the development and running of alternative spaces, and where those rules came from, are among the questions answered by the authors of Playing by the Rules: Alternative Thinking/Alternative Spaces. The underlying message in the publication is the importance of critical thinking as well as the need for alternative thinking. Some authors use specific examples of alternative spaces from around the world to demonstrate the varied thinking in organizations; some examine alternative practices in other fields, while other authors present alternatives to the alternative space. We hope this collection of essays will provide some inspiration in your own critical thinking and give you some fresh perspectives. A few of the essays provide some history of alternative spaces. Robert Atkins (art historian, critic, and curator based in California) uses as an example the salons of the 1920s, specifically Mabel Dodge’s, to show how a true alternative functioned; even such an old model can still hold relevance today. Questioning the value of history, Atkins calls alternatives in general “the impetus for change.” René Block (gallerist and former director of the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel, Germany) gives a brief history of how alternatives began and an introduction to TANAS, a private organization in Berlin with funding from Turkey intended to provide opportunity to Turkish artists in Germany. Using case studies of art venues in China, Vietnam, and Cambodia over the last 20-30 years, Biljana Ciric (independent curator based in Shanghai) explores the potentials of alternatives in these locations, and the importance of connecting with the rest of the world. Ciric outlines how these venues are developing the infrastructure missing from these locations and working towards a more long-range view necessary for progress as well as a place for intellectual exchange.