Introduction

An international curatorial office located in Paris, Council was devoted to fostering better understanding of societal and environmental issues. It was founded with the conviction that art produces meaningful social change and that its influence can be extended to other domains.

From 2013 to 2022, Council designed Inquiries, long-term collaborative programs on societal issues by partnering with thinkers and makers from different fields of action and expertise. Through these inquiries, Council curated exhibitions, artist projects, assemblies, and educational programs. Additionally, Council initiated Afield, a Fellowship to recognize artists and cultural practitioners who develop social initiatives that benefit communities within and beyond the field of arts.

Council’s program addresses issues related to ableism and the politics of hearing (Infinite Ear, 2013-2020), queer ecologies and international LGBTQI+ right (The Against Nature Journal, 2014-2022), social innovation by artists (Afield, 2014-), the more-than-human scale (On Becoming Earthlings, 2015-2022) and collective ecologies (Collective Practices, 2019-2022). Through these activities, Council built trans-local networks of creative and civically minded communities. The name Council literally stands for the situations designed within each project: physical or virtual assemblies where people concerned with a matter come together.

Council was founded by Grégory Castéra and Sandra Terdjman. It was registered as a non-profit organization in France (association loi 1901). Its finances mainly depended on the support of private foundations positioned between traditions of artistic and social philanthropy.

Last update 30/11/2022.

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Credits

A major support for Council’s program has been provided by the AKAT Fonds de dotation, the Foundation for Arts Initiative, the KONE Foundation and the TSADIK Foundation. Council gratefully acknowledge all the Partners, as well as the Board, the Advisors, the Team and other individuals for their generous support.

Board, Team an Advisors

Last update January 2023

A

Pio Abad is an artist living in London. He has been an Advisor of Afield since 2019.

Olivia Alvarez Libano is a cultural entrepreneur living in Barcelona. She has been Project Manager of Afield since 2019.

Aimar Arriola is a curator, editor and researcher living in Basque Country. He was guest curator and co-editor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

Baptiste Audibert is a student in aesthetics living in Paris. He was Curatorial Assistant of Council in 2020.

B

Benedicta M. Badia de Nordenstahl is an art advocate and collector living in Chicago. She has been an Advisor of Afield since 2020.

Erika Balson is a film researcher and curator living in London. She was guest Curator of Shoreline Movements (2020 - 2021).

Mathieu Baudin is the Director of the Institut des Futurs Souhaitables. He lives in Paris. He was an Advisor of Council in 2014 and 2015.

Thomas Boutoux is an educator and the director of Paraguay Press. He was an Advisor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

Francesca Bertolotti-Bailey is a producer, a curator, and an editor of the Serving Library. She lives in Parma. She was Associate at Large from 2016 to 2019.

Mimi Brown is an art collaborator and supporter living in Hong Kong. She has been an Advisor of Afield since 2019.

Salome Burstein is a curator and founder of Shmorevaz. She lives in Paris. She was Afield coordinator in 2017 and 2018.

C

Diana Campbell Betancourt is the Artistic Director of the Samdani Art Foundation and Desert X. She lives in Brussels. She was an Advisor of Afield and she is a member of the Facilitation Group of Afield since 2021.

Grégory Castéra is the co-founder of Council. He lives in Paris, He was Co-director of Council from 2013 to 2020, he was Director from 2020 to 2022, and he has been a member of the Afield Facilitation Group since 2021.

Antonin Charret is a doctoral student in education administration living in London. He was Curatorial Assistant of Council in 2018 and 2019.

Binna Choi is the director of Casco - working for the commons and Co-artistic director of the Singapour Biennial 2022. She lives in Utrecht. She has been an Advisor of Afield since 2018.

Lawrence Chu is a collector living in Hong Kong. He has been an Advisor of Afield since 2019.

Haro Cumbunsyan is an entrepreneur and a collector living in Zurich and Istanbul. He was a board member of Council from 2016 to 2022, and he has been an Advisor of Afield since 2019.

D

Nikita Dhawan is a political scientist. She lives in Dresden. She was an Advisor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

E

Taru Elfving is the founder and director of Contemporary Art Archipelago. She lives in Helsinki. She was an Advisor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

G

Dora Garcia is an artist living in Oslo. He has been and Advisor of Afield since 2019.

Cecilia Granara is a painter living in Paris. She was Coordinator of Council from 2014 to 2015.

Solène Guillier is the co-founder and co-director of the gallery gb Agency. She lives in Paris. She was Board Member of Council from 2013 to 2018.

Abhijan Gupta is a curator living in Bangkok and Berlin. He was coordinator of Council in 2016 and 2017.

H

Joanna Hadjitomas is a filmmaker living in Paris and Beirut. She was the Vice President of the Board of Council from 2018 to 2022.

Donna Haraway is a philosopher and biologist living in Santa Cruz. She was an Advisor of Council from 2013 to 2016.

Marie-Nour Héchaimé is a curator living in Beirut. She was T.A.N.J. Project Manager from in 2018 and 2019.

Sofia Hernandez Chong Cuy is the director of Kunstinstituut Melly. She lives in Rotterdam. She was board member from 2018 to 2022.

K

Moukhtar Kocache is a philanthropic advisor living between New York, Paris and Istanbul. He has been an Advisor of Afield since 2018.

L

Bruno Latour was a philosopher, sociologist and curator. He was board member of Council from 2019 to 2022.

Laurent Le Bon is the president of Centre Pompidou Paris. He was a Board member of Council from 2019 to 2022.

Joseph Lemarchand is a philanthropic advisor. He was an Advisor of Council from 2017 to 2019.

M

Emma McCormick-Goodhart is an artist and a writer living between London and New York. She was coordinator of Council in 2014 and 2015.

Kathryn Marshall is an artist living in Paris. She was coordinator of Council from 2013 to 2014.

Sasha Moujaes is a cultural producer living in Paris. She was Afield coordinator from 2018 to 2019.

N

Karim Nammour is a lawyer and an activist living in Beirut. He was an Advisor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

O

Laurens Otto is a curator living in Antwerp. He was coordinator for the Blackmarket for Useful Knowledge and Non-Knowledge in 2014 and 2015.

P

Sébastien Paule is the director of Illusion & Macadam. He lives and works in Montpellier. He was an Advisor for Council in 2016.

Piergiorgio Pepe is an ethic officer and collector living in Paris. He was a Board member of of Council from 2019 to 2022.

Valerie Pihet is a researcher living in Brussels. She was the President of the Board of Council from 2013 to 2019.

Marie Plagnol is the curator of the education program at CAC Bretigny. She lives in Paris. She was Curatorial Assistant of Council from 2019 to 2020.

Gaelle Porte is the Program Director of la Collective. She lives in Paris. She was Project Manager of Council from 2019 to 2021, and she was Deputy Director of Council in 2021.

R

Walid Raad is an artist living in New York. He has been an Advisor of Afield since 2019.

Farid Rakun is a member of ruamgrupa living in Jakarta. He has been an Advisor of Afield since 2018.

Graeme Reid is the Director of the LGBTQI+ Department of Human Rights Watch. He lives in New York. He was an Advisor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

Pedro Reyes is an artist living in Mexico. He has been an Advisor of Afield since 2019.

S

Nizar Saghieh is a lawyer and an activist living in Beirut. He was an Advisor of T.A.N.J. from 2016 to 2022.

Rasha Salti is the director of La Fenetre in Arte. She was an Advisor of Council from 2014 to 2019.

Paola Soaves is a curator living in Paris. She was the project manager of Shoreline Movements in 2020.

T

Abi Tariq is an artist and a communication manager living in Paris. He was Communication Manager of Council from 2020 to 2022, and has been the Communication Manager of Afield since 2020.

Sandra Terdjman is the co-founder of Kadist and Council. She lives in Paris. She was Co-director of Council from 2013 to 2020, and the resident of the Board from 2020 to 2022, and she has been a member of the Facilitation Group of Afield since 2021.

Giulia Tognon is a cook living in Paris. She was coordinator of Council from 2017 to 2020, and she was Co-editor of T.A.N.J. from 2020 to 2022.

U

Valentina Ulisse is a curator living in Paris. She was Curatorial Assistant of Collective Agenda in 2020 and 2021.

W

Yundi Wang is a curator living in Paris. She was Curatorial Assistant for Shoreline Movements from 2019 to 2020.

Chantal Wong is a curator living in Hong Kong. She was an Advisor of Afield from 2018 to 2021, and she has been a member of the Facilitation Group of Afield since 2021.

Partners

Council
Foundation for Arts Initiative
AKAT Fonds de dotation
Emmanuel de la Baume

Afield
TSADIK Foundation
Lawrence Chu
Benedicta Badia Nordenstahl
Mimi Brown
Haro Cumbusyan

Collective Agenda
Iaspis – Konstnärsnämnden
KKH, The Royal Institute of Arts
Public Art Agency Sweden

T.A.N.J.
Alternative Law Forum
Ashkal Alwan
Centre Georges Pompidou
Contour Biennial
French Institute of Beirut
Heinrich Böll Foundation
KONE Foundation
Legal Agenda
Nordic Culture Point

Ghost Marmalade
Cité Internationale des Arts
Café Coutume

Why Are Your Angry?
Fond de dotation Famille Moulin
Tate St Ives
Scottish Government

Correspondaences
French Ministry of Culture (DGCA)
Li Beirut (UNESCO)
Institut Français du Liban
Nordic Culture Point

On Becoming Earthlings
CNRS
Fondation Daniel et Nina Carasso
Fondation de France
KADIST
Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen
Le Bon Coin
Musée de l’Homme Paris
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
The Nature Addicts Fund
La Région Ile-de-France
Samdani Art Foundation
Slovenian Embassy Paris
Suez Environment
Taipei Biennial 2020
Times Museum
Vitamin Creative Space
La Ville de Paris

Infinite Ear
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation
Al Amal School for the Deaf
AiR Bergen
BAMPFA / the MATRIX Program
Bergen Assembly
Bergen Center for Electronic Arts
Bergen Deaf Society
Bergen School of Architecture
BIT20 Ensemble
CentroCentro
EMPAC
Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Ekko Festival
French Embassy of New York
Galerie Chantal Crousel
The Grieg Academy
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Kvadrat Soft Cells
Meyer Sound
MoMA PS1
Sharjah Art Foundation
ZKM

Talks and Workshops
Aalto University / CuMMA
Art in General
Ashkal alwan
bak
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
CCA Estonia
E.m.m.a
Galerie Chantal Crousel
INHA
miart
MAMVP
Phenomenon 2
Public Art Agency Sweden
Samdani Art Foundation
State of Concept
TBA21
Tensta Konsthall

Fellowships Residencies
11th Gwangju Biennale
Frame Contemporary Art Finland
Melly Kunstinstituut
Mondriaan Fund

Colophon

DESIGN James Langdon Remco Van Bladen

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT Systemantics

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Hylex

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