++++ Manifesta asks...
Iara Boubnova

_ What is your view on Manifesta’s role?
For me Manifesta is an event that is in tune with current shifting reality. Its most important features such as stressing the process just as much as the product; nomadism, which is manifested in the changing place of realization; teams of curators from various backgrounds; an international foundation as organizer; orientation towards the new - all of these seem to be favourable preconditions for taking risks and for pronounced mobility. It would appear that there is thus less risk of turning into a mouthpiece for ideologies. I think the role of Manifesta could be defined as something like a proving ground as well as an accumulator and, up to a point, a provocateur not only in the domain of the presentation of contemporary art, but also within the processes of artists’ reflection.

In my opinion, Manifesta could explore new types of interrelations (interaction) between art and the public sphere. In what way, for instance, are what was previously known as ‘high art’ and mass culture, while coexisting and being juxtaposed to each other, now in a process of mutual conjugation? How do electronic media facilitate this process? How could the inner tensions developing within the process of exhibition-making be visualized? And the result: open to the viewer, inter-communicative, stimulating reactions.

_ Which issues or themes are you currently most occupied with?
I am interested in the perception of the current identity of an individual (artist or viewer) as a complex, delicate composite entity that, when entering the collective context of an exhibition, generates a dense fabric of interwoven issues, references, platforms. All these contribute to the dynamism of the whole in diverse and fascinating
ways which are not only interesting to observe, but also to orchestrate and to interface with a larger audience.