JUBILEE 2.0 COLLECTIVE CONVERSATIONS:
ACTIVATING FRED DEWEY’S LIBRARY
Jubilee presents a public programme on Fred Dewey’s library. The conversational format starts from books we chose from his book collection. The selection of books sheds light on individual artistic practices of Jubilee members, as well as on Jubilee’s collective projects. These collective conversations offer a first series of insights in Dewey’s work and philosophy, which Jubilee’s 2024 cycle of monthly Reading Rooms will develop further.
“People are more willing to talk … when they’re sharing something deeply meaningful with each other. That’s why poetry becomes the foundation of a new kind of dialogue.” (Fred Dewey)
In the summer of 2023 Jubilee expanded the organisation with artists and researchers with whom we have worked in the past. Louise de Bethune, Katya Ev, Ciel Grommen, Hélène Meyer, Maximiliaan Royakkers, Stijn Van Dorpe, Filip Van Dingenen, Jesse Van Winden and Clémentine Vaultier joined Jubilee’ general assembly. They join Justin Bennett, Ronny Heiremans, Vincent Meessen, and Katleen Vermeir for what can be considered Jubilee 2.0.
Jubilee’s Summer School 2023 paid a collective visit to Fred Dewey’s library. Fred Dewey had a fierce commitment to creating public spaces for intellectual and political engagement. His home base was Los Angeles, but the last years of his life he spent in Brussels. In 2022 Dewey died unexpectedly. To ensure the continuation of his legacy, the Fred Dewey Legacy Project was initated, aiming to set up initiatives that extend Dewey’s work, as well as preserve his considerable library.
Summer 2023 artists Filip van Dingenen and Hélène Meyer re-installed part of Dewey’s extensive library. They are opening up his collection of books to artists and researchers from their studio home. One way to activate this library is Jubilee’s 2024 Reading Room program. This program performs a collective knowledge transfer – using the library as a situated research tool from which each Jubilee artist can select a title and propose it for a collective reading and discussion session.
‘Jubilee 2.0 Collective Conversations’ welcomes you to Kunsthal Gent on 22 November from 19h for a collective presentation of Jubilee’s ongoing and upcoming collective research, for which the Dewey library is an excellent starting point. Through a selection of books different Jubilee artists will introduce their practices as well as the current development of a mapping tool for situated artistic research, with the working title Shards. Our interest in a new organisational forms, reconsidering cooperative entrepreneurship, will also have our attention.
