×

Love, Art and Feminism in the Digital Age. Digital_Luv is Curated by GIRLS.

By Sarah Luisa Santos . December 9, 2016

I have always wanted to write about art. Actually, that was one of the reasons I studied Visual Arts but, you know, life happened. But, I always try to know more about what’s happening in the Berlin art scene. That’s how Digital_Luv, from the collective Curated by GIRLS, caught my attention.

I immediately thought the name ‘Curated by GIRLS’ was interesting, especially because I do declare myself a feminist. And Curated by GIRLS works with these exact same premises: to disclose gender equality through art.

I had a quick chat with Laetitia Duveau, one of the founders, who explained to me what Curated by GIRLS is, and what to expect from their next exhibition, happening this Saturday and Sunday (10th-11th December) at BlogFabrik, in partnership with Kaltblut Magazine.

Berlin loves you Curated by GIRLS Laetitia Duveau
Laetitia Duveau

1. What is Curated by GIRLS?

Curated by GIRLS is a platform that was conceived seven months ago, my former partner Ophélie Rondeau (@ophelierondeau) and me, to promote visual artists based on diversity, equality and freedom.

The idea was to build a female-curated collective that would be all inclusive and represent everyone, no matter the gender, ethnicity, or sexuality. Unfortunately, too many people in this world are still not considering others as equal, but instead as an enemy or a threat.

CBG has an identity: diversity. And it’s a pretty large topic. But I guess we have to think outside of ourselves, not just fight for our own things. I see the beauty in everyone!

To be featured on the website, the art has to be honest and willing to tell a story.

2. How did the idea first gain shape?

When we launched CBG, I had just arrived in Berlin. I became a curator, but had no clue how to do it. A couple of months later, I was on my own, as Ophélie – who’s a photographer – had to quit to focus on her career. I decided to keep going and started working on a first IRL show, “Freer In Berlin – New Feminity”, featuring 26 international artists, that took place in October 2016, That was followed in November by “Poster Boys” a solo show featuring Berlin-based photographer Joseph Wolfgang Ohlert. I’m super proud of these two shows.

Recently, Suzanne Wegh (@suzepuz), a new curator has joined me. I’m glad to have her on board. My aim in the near future is to build a strong collective with great people. Being a curator is a lot of work, especially when you start from scratch. You have to trust yourself when choosing the art, when finding your taste!

Berlin loves you Curated by GIRLS St.Francis Elevator Ride
Work by St.Francis Elevator Ride

3. About the exhibition: What is the concept of Digital_Luv?

For this third show, I wanted to do something different. I met Nicolas Simoneau, from Kaltblut Magazine, at my first IRL show, and we immediately clicked. We wanted to work together on a project since then.

Nicolas had this idea of showing digital art, which I thought was interesting and challenging. We met and brainstormed about a theme. We wanted to tell a story – it’s not just about showing artists’ work randomly.

Love is a main theme in our lives, even if some people say it isn’t. It is! Obviously, we still haven’t figured out what love is. Love, as our vision about sex and, more widely, our self-image, is big in our society. It’s one of the main life concerns. So we can’t ignore it.

We put those 2 words together, digital and love. Technology is now such a huge part of our lives. It is fascinating how fast we move forward to artificial intelligence or virtual reality, but also how we go backwards in terms of communicating with each other.

“Digital_Luv” is also questioning our interactions as humans. Are we really connected to each other? Are we listening to our heart or to what is happening in our vicinity?

Berlin loves you Curated by GIRLS Leah Schrager
Photography by Leah Schrager

4. Let’s talk about some works, like Leah Schrager and Paola Arena, which differ quite heavily in style and media. How do these two correlate to one another?

Leah and Paola differ in style and media, but what they express is not so different.

Leah turns herself into an art object, playing with the power of female sexuality and the perception of the naked female body. She pictures herself in various erotic positions without showing any erotic spot of her body to denounce social media censorship.

Paola’s series “Solitude vs. Loneliness” was born after a period of forced seclusion, when she was thinking about the dualism within the concept of loneliness.

The result is a series of minimalist drawings of places or situations, involving sex and being lonely (pain) or alone (joy).

Both artists started these projects out of frustration and are telling us the story of everyone of us in our society from different perspectives/angles. But the story is pretty much the same. We are all the same.

Berlin loves you Curated by GIRLS Sasha Katz
Work by Sasha Katz

5. How did the idea of putting the works of Vash Yeah and Sasha Katz together come to you?

We were looking for artists who have something to say. Art has an important role in our society. It opens our eyes to the diversity (we come from different backgrounds), to equality (we are all the same), to love (we need to love and respect each other).

Nicolas Simoneau suggested these two amazing artists, Sasha Katz and Vash Yeah, share that kind of vibe. They totally tell the story of our sometimes obsessive/weird relationship to digital (Sasha) and the story of our obsession with owning stuff and getting swallowed by the consumerism society we live in (Vash Yeah).

Berlin loves you Curated by GIRLS Work by Vash Yeah
Work by Vash Yeah

6. And how did the partnership with Blogfabrik and Kaltblut magazine happen? And please tell me more about the Lomography contest – how does it work, how can people take part on it, what’s the prize, and why do it during the exhibition?

I have known the Kaltblut team since I was promoting my first exhibition. Nicolas showed up at the event and we had a very good connection right away. We then met a couple of days later and talked about doing this event together at Blogfabrik (as Kaltblut have their office there).

Blogfabrik is a great co-working space with a very stimulating atmosphere. Their philosophy is to help content creators let their ideas flow and have access to important tools. So I was immediately happy with the idea to organize an event there.

Concerning the contest, it’s the second time I’ve had Lomography Deutschland on board and I’m glad. It’s a great brand. They are trying to get involved and to support other interesting projects.
There will be a super cool instant camera to win during the exhibition. To participate is very simple: join the Facebook event and follow the instructions in the discussion tab. The winner will be randomly chosen at the exhibition.

Berlin loves you Curated by GIRLS Illustration by Polly Nor
Illustration by Polly Nor

Digital_Luv is exhibiting on the 10th and 11th December at BlogFabrik. There will be 12 amazing visual artists, a live performance, a 3d vagina, an incredible hologram presentation, a VR spot, and several great DJ sets. There are also gift bags available, with goodies from Google, PERLENSÄUE, Mancheck, KALTBLUT Magazine, and more. RSVP at hello@curatedbygirls.com for a chance to get one.

Curated by GIRLS. Laetitia Duveau. Berlin Loves You.

Laetitia Duveau– Co-founder & Curator

@itslittlevoice – www.instagram.com/itslittlevoice

Curated by GIRLS

www.curatedbygirls.com

www.instagram.com/curatedbygirls

www.facebook.com/curatedbygirls

Digital_Luv Exhibition

www.facebook.com/events/1892892830932602/

[chimpy_form]

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close