Talk

Unlearning and the politics of (im)possibilities

Annette Krauss in conversation with Choi Heong-uk and Silvia Gatti
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Library Nights # 6
Thursday 2 April
Rijksakademie Reading Room
Entrance free, RSVP here

How can we approach processes of unlearning physically, intellectually and collectively? Who is this “we”? And what does this have to do with learning processes? These are the questions at the heart of Annette Krauss’ theoretical and practical exploration of collective unlearning within various groups at the intersections of art, processes of normalisation, and the (affective) production of impossibilities.

Krauss works as an artist, educator, and writer. Her work is dedicated to practices of ‘unlearning’ and ‘commoning’, addressing questions of institutional responsibilities, feminism, and privilege in long-term collaborative practices such as ‘Sites for Unlearning’, ‘Hidden Curriculum’, ‘Spaces of Commoning’, ’Read-in; Read the Masks’, ‘Tradition is Not Given’, and ‘School of Temporalities’. These practices reflect and build upon the potential of collaboration while aiming at disrupting taken for granted truths in imagining and living forms of collectivity. Since 2023 she is co-heading the department Art and Communication Practices, University of Applied Arts Vienna.

In her most recent published collaboration ‘Unlearning Routines of the Impossible’ (co-published with Casco Art Institute and Minor compositions, 2025), Krauss ‘critically examines the struggles, entanglements, and joys of practicing unlearning in predominantly western contexts, challenging the normative structures of educational, institutional, and everyday practices that underpin them.’

The presentation will be followed by a shared conversation with artist and current resident Choi Heong-uk and artist and Rijksakademie alum Silvia Gatti, whose practices and reflections actively engage with questions of education, memory, and institutional experience, bringing their own situated perspectives into dialogue with Krauss’ research. In 2025, Choi and Gatti participated in the collective article 'Shared Infrastructures: a conversation on art and education' at the Rijksakademie, reflecting on personal and structural experiences of learning, unlearning, and the conditions that shape them.

Annette Krauss

Annette Krauss works as artist and educator. Exploring the possibility of participatory practices, her often research-based work addresses the intersection between art, politics, and everyday life. Her work revolves around informal knowledge and normalisation processes that shape our bodies, the way we relate, and engage in social practices, and how these influence the way we know and act in the world. Krauss has (co-)initiated various long-term collaborative practices (Hidden Curriculum, 2007–present) / Sites for Unlearning, 2011–present / Read-in, 2010–present / Read the Masks. Tradition is Not Given, 2008–12 / School of Temporalities, 2013–present). These projects reflect and build upon the potential of collaborative practices while aiming at disrupting taken for granted truths in imagining and living forms of collectivity. Since 2023 she is co-heading the department Art and Communication Practices, University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Choi Heong-uk

As a visual artist, Choi Heong-uk has planned and implemented public art and art education projects. His work focuses on the themes of place and shelter, leading him to create various installation artworks. He is particularly concerned with how to welcome children as refugees, into public spaces. To address this, Choi Heong-uk established Bindoong Play, an artist cooperative with fellow artists, dedicated to developing experimental playgrounds where children can engage in self-directed creation within a Korean context.

Silvia Gatti

Silvia Gatti is an Italian multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Amsterdam. Concepts inform the process of her works and her art practice incorporates elements from various disciplines, including text based video installation, poetry, programming and conceptual works on paper. She works with language and storytelling as a form of concrete philosophy, a way of making art by dealing with the space in between the unknown, the physical and the digital realm, placing questions about physicality and human existence while challenging the format of writing in space and time. Silvia is currently researching on themes related to body awareness, human consciousness and intelligence, mythologies, generative systems and their impact on human identity.

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