2pm
Temporary magazine library

7pm
Introduction by Valerie Chartrain and Clara Meister
Talks by Jenelle Troxell and Abigail Child

8pm
Screening with films by Coco Fusco, Lili Reynaud-Dewar, Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz, and Abigail Child

The Goethe-Institut New York and MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies Ludlow 38, in collaboration with the French magazine Pétunia, present a day-long event dedicated to introducing contemporary approaches to feminism through magazines and film.

Pétunia is a feminist publication that plays the game of affirmative action in response to the constant imbalance of the role and place of women in the art world. With nostalgia and humor, the magazine reactivates the ideological engagement of women in art and cultural production, while also furthering four decades of women’s studies, black studies, post-colonial studies, and, of course, post-feminist studies. Pétunia seeks to go beyond a strictly feminist point of view and take feminist thinking as a critical tool to embrace a class/gender/race perspective, thereby establishing a blueprint for reflection on the complexities of identity today.

At the Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building, throughout the afternoon of March 17, a temporary library will provide a curated overview of contemporary feminist magazines. The evening will be introduced with an open discussion between Pétunia co-founder and editor Valérie Chartrain and Ludlow 38 curatorial resident and Pétunia contributor Clara Meister about the role and practice of feminist publication initiatives. A conversation with scholar and Convolution Journal editor Jenelle Troxell about the history of feminist journals since the 1920s and women’s historic role in publishing, and with media artist and writer Abigail Child will lead to the screening of a selection of short films by Coco Fusco, Lili Reynaud Dewar, Pauline Boudry/Renate Lorenz, and Abigail Child. Each film uniquely registers the debate beyond the printed format and brings to the screen the very elusive gestures a contemporary magazine like Pétunia and Troxell’s ongoing research aim to investigate. Participants are invited to question these approaches and to openly discuss possible reservations towards them.

Organized by Clara Meister

2pm onwards

Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building
5 East 3rd Street
New York, NY 10003