No subject

Araeen's manifesto examines earlier failed attempts to step down from
the pedestal of the bourgeoisie in favour of a collective commitment to
our surroundings and the environment. Nevertheless, the notion of art as
a positive, giving alternative unhampered by the restraints of either
representation or negation is relevant in a new decade in a new millennium.

In trying to conceive of such an alternative it seems a reasonable first
step to take a closer look at alliances between art and sustainable
development For at the roots of the idea of sustainability lie an
ethical imperative and a persistent struggle against inequality –
parameters that seem indispensable today if we actually want to imagine
change and alternatives.

The notion of sustainability first aroused political attention in the
1970s, although it can also be traced back to the 1960s in the shape of
various grass-roots movements. In 1972 the UN Conference on the Human
Environment was held in Stockholm – this was the first of its kind, and
at the same time the first transnational forum that even considered the
environment and society as a single, interconnected issue.

The conference was strongly influenced by the book Limits to Growth
published by the global think tank Club of Rome the same year, in which
the problems of exponential growth vis-Ã -vis the limited resources of
the Earth were outlined. The book inspired thoughts about the limits of
growth in terms not only of the human population but also of economic
factors. This realization that the Earth was not an inexhaustible
storehouse of resources contributed to the development of a notion of
sustainability that takes the future generations of the Earth into account.

The correlation between ecological and social issues is a fundamental
aspect of thinking about sustainability, and consequently also involves
concepts like responsibility and ethics. Similarly, in various movements
that have consistently had sustainability as a central point of
reference since the 1970s, for instance Social Ecology and Ecofeminism,
sustainability is inextricably bound up with an astute critique of the
dominant hierarchical structures.

The notion of sustainability thus includes the consideration of social
structures, subjection and domination, ethics and economics on an equal
footing with consideration of the environment and the ecology. If art
today is to have the above-mentioned positive starting point, it needs
to think about this complex apparatus as a whole and imagine an
alternative. Only thus can we move towards an art that is healing and
affirmative – and thus towards an eco-aesthetic in the new millennium.

With this background the Aarhus Art Building is hereby issuing an Open
Call for Proposals for 2011. We welcome suggestions for group
exhibitions, solo exhibitions and workshops as well as suggestions for
projects in public space. Guidelines can be found at
www.aarhuskunstbygning.dk. The guidelines must be followed in the
application to make it eligible for consideration.