11.09.2024, 11:00 // The School of the Arts, University of Pretoria is delighted to present The Octopus: On Diversities, Art Production, Educational Models, and Curatorial Trajectories, published in the book series of the University of Applied Arts Vienna Edition Angewandte by De Gruyter. Edited by Basak Senova, the book shares contributions by Ruth Anderwald + Leonard Grond, Çelenk Bafra, Yane Calovski, Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Olfa Feki, Hristina Ivanoska, Johannes Jäger, Anne Klontz, Bronwyn Lace, Maria Lantz, Verena Miedl-Faißt, Maarit Mustonen, Marcus Neustetter, Egle Oddo, Barbara Putz- Plecko, Basak Senova, Renad Shqeirat, Bochra Taboubi, and Johan Thom and project texts by Noor Abed, Sophia Bellouhassi, Younes Ben Slimane, Férielle Doulain-Zouari, Eser Epözdemir, Els van Houtert, Bengü Karaduman, Marwa Manai, Verena Miedl-Faißt, Nondumiso Lwazi Msimanga, Maarit Mustonen, Jannis Neumann, Sofia Priftis, Alina Rentsch, Kim M. Reynolds, Julia Stern, Bochra Taboubi, and Conny Zenk. The Octopus: On Diversities, Art Production, Educational Models, and Curatorial Trajectories was designed by Funda Senova Tunali and Basak Senova.

This book is the accumulation of the Octopus Programme (2019-2022), which was designed as a guided research-based educational programme that encouraged artistic research and production-based collaborations in different geographical regions. The Octopus Programme developed new critical perspectives to process artistic research and practices while bridging and acknowledging: the diversity of socio-political realities, academic and non-academic intellectual models, institutional and alternative curatorial practices, accessed and distributed resources and facilities, and multiple knowledge production models. By merging the viewpoints of academic entities and contemporary art institutions, the programme developed a generative research methodology by creating an autonomous network.

Its sister project, A Research of Doing, initiated by the University of Pretoria and University of Applied Arts Vienna in collaboration with the Centre for the Less Good Idea, funded by OeAD Africa-UniNet and BMBWF has provided further input to the Octopus Programme.

The Octopus Programme was initiated in 2019 by the University of Applied Arts Vienna and the Kamel Lazaar Foundation with a pilot phase linking Vienna and Tunis. In 2020, the programme launched its main phase as a joint project by the University of Applied Arts Vienna; Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis; Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design and Index, Stockholm; the University of Pretoria; The Centre for the Less Good Idea, Johannesburg; Birzeit University; the Palestinian Museum, Birzeit; Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center, Ramallah; SAHA Association, Istanbul; PUBLICS and Saastamoinen Foundation, Helsinki. Five interconnected evaluation committees selected participants from Austria, Finland, Tunisia, Palestine, South Africa, Sweden, and Turkey. The Octopus Programme offered peer-to-peer educational sessions, online and class discussions, research field trips and working groups, collaborative production-based workshops, and lectures in different European, Mediterranean, and African cities. In 2022, the programme concluded with two exhibitions in Tunis and Vienna.