At the Project space of the Museum of architecture and design, Nonument Group introduces itself with an exhibition with a suggestive title: The Exhibition is Outdoors. It is focused on the phenomenon of nonuments, a term used to describe architecture, monuments, public spaces and infrastructure whose meaning has transformed as a consequence of social or political changes. The exhibition serves as an introduction to the work of the art and research group by showcasing the database of nonuments and staged art interventions, as well as scheduled events in the field.

With their analyses of the historical context, markings in the field and/or art interventions, the Nonument Group interweave the spaces of the past and the future, everyday spaces and spaces of art. The exhibition layout, which intends to present the work method in three sections, also poses various questions: the unfinished database opens up the question of archive, art interventions are displayed as mere fragments of the staged work, and the upcoming markings of nonuments in the field are linked to events that will take place outside the museum during the exhibition, with the documentary material to be added later on. The exhibition layout thus remains an unfinished whole that is constantly being added to, and – crucially – directs the attention to the field, outside of museum space.

The Exhibition is Outdoors thus sheds light on the nonument phenomenon from three different angles and by providing a multi-layered experience opens up the question of the possibility to perceive different dislocated events and time fractures in parallel, as well as utilizes space to explore the dividing lines between architecture, art, memory and heritage, which are difficult to pin down.

The museum exhibition will be complemented by three events taking place in the field:

• on June 9 with the project Nothing can happen here, a sound drive in the Sever car park, as part of the events prior to opening Cukrarna, the new space for contemporary art;
• on June 29 with the intervention at the remains of the Bloudek Tower, the nonument at Šišenski hill that will be reimagined and restored, as has just been officially decided;
• on July 23 with the closing event at the Belvedere Vila Bled pavilion.

NONUMENT GROUP

The Nonument Group is exploring the processes of remembering and forgetting in space in different ways. On one hand, these encompass art interventions, on the other, creating a database of nonuments used by the Group to explore, map and archive architecture, monuments, public spaces and infrastructure whose meaning has transformed due to social and political changes. As opposed to the database, art interventions shed light on the dilemmas via an aesthetic experience of the present and by exploring the diverse artistic approaches question the importance of heritage in space. The Nonument Group is a research and art collective formed by Neja Tomšič, Martin Bricelj Baraga, Nika Grabar and Miloš Kosec. The Group collaborates with numerous co-creators, researchers and artists in an international context.

Produced by: MoTA – Museum of transitory art

Co-produced by: Museum of architecture and design

The event at TGH-64 co-produced by: Museum and galleries of Ljubljana