On Saturday 17 October 2020, BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht hosts a program surrounding the new book of artist Nicoline van Harskamp, My Name Is Language (2020), published by Scriptings and Archive Books and made possible with the support of Mondriaan Fonds. The program takes place as part of the reopening of Tony Cokes: To Live as Equals at BAK, on 16 & 17 October 2020.

The publication My Name Is Language (2020) explores the key tenets of artist Nicoline van Harskamp’s research and practice, such as the contemporary use and modification of languages, a treatment of names as spoken language rather than spelled identity markers, and the practice of self-naming.

In this event launching the publication in the Netherlands, literary scholar Avishek Ganguly and art curator Antonia Alampi speak about translation and untranslatability and the potential of re-naming and self-naming through their own, and van Harskamp’s practice. Also on this occasion, BAK’s Artistic and General Director Maria Hlavajova, writer and literary translator Canan Marasligil, BAK’s Curator of Public Practice Rachael Rakes, and art historian Ilse van Rijn engage with excerpts from scripts of the eponymous performance series My Name Is Language (2018-ongoing). The performance series emerged from van Harskamp’s work PDGN (2016), developed in the framework of the artist’s exhibition Englishes at BAK in 2016, which inquired into the ways the use of language is entrenched in structures of class and power and which put forward a proposition of an unlikely but desirable world link language.

My Name Is Language is published in the series Scriptings: Political Scenarios (Ed. Achim Lengerer) by Archive Books and EECLECTIC (e-book), and made possible by the Mondriaan Fund.

Live streaming As well as being an on-site event at BAK, the program also will be streamed live. You can access the live stream on this page, as well as on Facebook. The live stream will become accesible shortly before the event starts.

Program:

19.00 hrs: doors open

19.15 hrs: program start

21.00 hrs: program end

Special deal! You can pre-order the book for a discounted prize, to pick up during the launch event on 17 October.

Ticket prizes:

Launch event general ticket: €7.50

Launch event student ticket: €6

Special deal: event ticket + book: €18 (saves €6.50!)

Please note: the launch itself takes place in the BAK auditorium, it is not possible to visit exhibition Tony Cokes: To Live as Equals during the event. For this, please book a timeslot for one of the introductions on Friday 16 or Saturday 17 October, TICKETS HERE.

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Image credit: Mein Name ist Sprache, 2018, live performance Steirscher Herbst Graz, stage photograph by Clara Wildberger

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Covid-19 regulations

To ensure the safety of our visitors and staff on location, BAK has prepared a number of Covid-19 guidelines, including hygiene, keeping 1.5 meters distance at all times, sticking to your allocated seating, following staff instructions, and more. A full list of guidelines will be sent to you via e-mail in advance. If you book tickets for an event at BAK, you agree to respect these guidelines, and we hope you join our effort in creating a safe environment for yourself and all those present!