Plattform25
Opening
09.05.25, 18:00
Exhibition
10.05.25 – 09.07.25
Every year, Plattform selects newly graduated artists from Swiss art schools and organises an exhibition. This exhibition takes place at a different location every year. The operational team, which also forms the selection jury, is completely or partially changed every year. It consists of curators who are at the beginning of their careers.
One could thematise the questions that such an exhibition might raise. For example, whether such a selection of works by former students paints an objective picture of the future of Swiss art. Or one could question the model of an art competition – a common structure in the art world that encourages or even reinforces competition between artists and their practices, even during the educational stage. These questions are justified in a system that is cumbersome and merciless (especially for freelance artists and curators), because they allow you to put things into perspective, weigh up the pros and cons and perhaps – at least temporarily – position yourself.
However, as a curatorial team we would like to emphasise the commitment of the Plattform team in this introduction. Because apart from the difficult question of artist selection and the competition-related framework conditions, Plattform takes on every phase of the exhibition development with a way of working and a process that we appreciate and defend. Plattform is a collective of curators and artists that works collectively and in which all members share tasks equally. In this respect, it is similar to our structure at CAN, horizontally organised and without hierarchies, and is also related to a particularly inspiring form: the artist-run space. The members of Plattform develop their own specific way of working – a shared ‘thinking’ and ‘doing’ that we believe is one of the best guarantees of representativeness within their work. It also brings with it a particularly keen understanding of the challenges and constraints that artists face in developing their practice in relation to exhibitions. Today, the collective seems to us to be the most effective means of combating a system that, as we have seen, is harsh and unrelenting. And even if it is comforting that the working logic of Plattform has become established, we regret that such horizontal forms of organisation are no longer emerging in the professional cultural sector.
Today, as we look back on three decades of the art centre's existence in CAN, we are also turning our attention to the next generation and making room for the voices of these artists and curators. Our heartfelt thanks go to the entire Plattform team, and especially to Mélissa Biondo, Thilda Bourqui, Anna Christen, Théa Giglio, Aleyna Günay, Salome Jokhadze, Anna Kawahara, Kelechi Madumere, Jorge Morocho Ibarra, Sophie Nadler and Etienne Eisele, Clara Roumégoux and Sherif Sherif for their valuable artistic contributions.
The CAN team
Artists
Clara Roumégoux, Jorge Morocho Ibarra, Salome Jokhadze, Théa Giglio, Thilda Bourqui, Mélissa Biondo, Anna Christen, Aleyna Günay, Anna Kawahara, Kelechi Madumere, Sophie Nadler, Etienne Eisele, Sherif Sherif
Curators
Clara Chavan, Diogo Pinto, Jack Pryce, Katia Leonelli, Selma Meuli, Monica Unser
Location
CAN Centre d’Art Neuchâtel
Rue des Moulins 37
2000 Neuchâtel
Switzerland
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Website
https://can.ch