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Claudia Schouten (b. 1976, NL), is a curator, organizer, the general director and co-founder of an artist collective Locatie Spatie and the founder of the artist-in-residence center and project space Motel Spatie, based in a neglected residential area in the outskirts of Arnhem, the Netherlands.

For Spatie it is important to work beyond the praxis ingrained into many cultural institutions, often limited to the centres of cities, the safety of walls, a particular social context, and a particular vocabulary.

With Motel Spatie artist-in-residence program, Claudia Schouten shapes her concept of ‘Engaged Autonomy’ by linking artists to a particular physical and / or social context and supporting them in the development of new work.

Engaged Autonomy is a concept of self-awareness about the contemporary context. It describes a responsibility to stand for one’s own actions but to invite the context to affect them.

The exchanges, which occur in the form of knowledge or content, serve as questions that disturb the prevailing consensus about either the creator, or the context. While the concept of Engaged Autonomy can apply to many aspects of society, Claudia Schouten specifically produces contemporary art projects in diverse backgrounds for the purpose of raising these questions in cities around the world.

During her two-months residence in Wrocław Claudia Schouten will learn about our working methods and strategies by becoming the member of the curatorial and production team of the WRO Art Center. In the course of her research of the regional independent cultural and artistic scene, she will interact with other curators, artists, local activists and their projects and – of course – with our audiences, trying to define for herself the current role of an art curator.

On Friday, 23 September, at 6 PM we invite you to the Minerwa Club at Kuźnicza 29a (entrance through Kalaczakra Gallery & Cafe) in Wrocław for the presentation of the results of the Engaged Autonomy research project.