Marjetica Potrč: The Sami, Along with Their Ashaninka Friends, Contemplate Coexistance with the Earth (2016), © the artist and Galerie Nordenhake, Berlin/Stockholm.

The exhibition On Coexistence builds on the research and projects Marjetica Potrč has carried out, in Acre, Amazonas, and in other places, always with a focus on community, sustainability and building new knowledge on traditional grounds. Today, Marjetica Potrč´s views on local knowledge are shared with a growing number of people. Climate changes are an everyday experience and discussions about humanity’s relationships and responsibilities toward nature are gaining momentum. It seems we have to find ways to identify with that which conditions our existence on this planet, to see the human in a broader context—not as a sovereign but as a small part entangled in and depending on a complex weave. The sharp border between the human, the animal, the nature, seems to be transgressed. Marjetica Potrč´s oeuvre offers many entrances to this discussion. On Coexistence points to the importance of indigenous knowledge. To coexist with nature is for the indigenous peoples nothing new—it´s the foundation of their cultures. Marjetica Potrč large wall drawings can be read as narratives or thought maps—visual conclusions of her research.

­­«Indigenous knowledge—the practice of sustainable existence»

An international seminar ­­»Indigenous knowledge—the practice of sustainable existence» will be held on May 5–6. The seminar will gather scientists, artists, and writers: Frank Ekeberg, Douglas Nakashima, Gene Ray, Marie Roué, Judith D Schwartz, Douglas Sheil, Ande Somby and Marjetica Potrč. More info will follow.

This year, the Sami (the indigenous people of Norway) celebrate the centennial anniversary of the first Sami conference. Sami participants from all of Sapmi—the Sami territory that stretches through Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia—gathered for the first time in Trondheim in 1917. This celebration, Tråante, will inform the activities at Kunsthall Trondheim throughout the year.
Marjetica Potrč is based in Ljubljana. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout Europe and the Americas, including in such major exhibitions as the Venice Bienniale (1993, 2003, 2009), the São Paulo Biennial (1996, 2006) and at major institutions such as Guggenheim Museum in New York (2001). Potrč is Professor of Social Design at Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg.

Thanks to Galerie Nordenhake, Stockholm.

Marjetica Potrč: On Coexistence
Aimée Zito Lema: A Series of Gestures
April 6–May 21, 2017

Kunsthall Trondheim (LINK)
Kongens gate 2
7011 Trondheim
Norway