Attention Lab

Over the last twenty years, an unprecedented concentration of technical and financial power has successfully monetized human attention — with troubling implications for political, social and individual existence. Of the many casualties of this so-called “Attention Economy,” perhaps the most precious is attention’s role in creating the shared experiences that constitute a public reality. The effects can be seen in our fractured and contentious political landscape.

What is needed is public space where individuals can convene, form communities, and through the exercise of their collective attention, produce a common understanding of the world they live in—as well as a common vision of the world they hope to create. Attention and space: two oft-neglected elements that are critical to a healthy society.

An event hosted by the Monira Foundation responds to these threats. On November 13th, the Attention Lab, an experiential workshop designed to counter the predations of the Attention Economy,  will partner with Right Time, Right Place, an artist-curated exhibition that showcases works by international established and upcoming artists with different approaches to the public sphere. Through collective practices of sustained attention, participants will explore the power and beauty of pure attention, and will discuss its role in generating human communities and modes of political change. The Lab will feature Katharina Gruzei, collaborator and curator of Right Time Right Place and participating artists of the exhibition.

More about Right Time Right Place:

CHARLOTTE BECKET & ROGER SAYRE, VALIE EXPORT, GELITIN, KATHARINA GRUZEI, MARLENE HAUSEGGER, EGINHARTZ KANTER, JOSHUA LIEBOWITZ, ANN MESSNER, RAINER NOEBAUER, NANCY NOWACEK, JOSÉ PAZOS, OKTAVIA SCHREINER, STEFANOS TSIVOPOULOS

Public space has become a highly contested territory in the past decades. The term itself is a fluid concept that is constantly being redefined by its intricate cultural, historical, ecological, and political implications. Right Time, Right Place is an artist-curated exhibition that showcases works by international established and upcoming artists with different approaches to the public sphere. Issues regarding its use and accessibility are ever more relevant as privatization reaches a peak in cities such as New York, while the Covid crisis has only further influenced an existing zeal towards the regulation of public space, underlining critical aspects of this discussion.

Artists around the globe are taking to the public sphere, eschewing art-designated areas and traditional venues to connect with wider audiences, not necessarily represented by gallery visitors. Others are involving this sphere in their practice and containing it in other media. This show displays various artistic strategies, pointing out the potential of the public space as a social and political arena. Indeed, some works included question the fine boundaries between private and public, often blending them.

Right Time, Right Place revolves around informal and legally adjacent art practices that challenge the understanding of limitations. Furthermore, it underscores that the limits of art projects, activism, artivism and community building intersect, and that social change and artistic practice are often intertwined. Curfews and new rules of conduct, in particular, have changed the relationship to public space for urban residents. Efforts to maintain order and cleanliness have significantly restricted the scope of action for artists. These boundaries call once more for their exploration.