Respuestas al cuestionario
PROYECTO DE GESTION INDEPENDIENTE. APROXIMACIONES AL CONCEPTO

MESSAGE SALON

-How does your space define its independent character?

The space is a artistmeeting-place. we all do it with little money. i do
programms when i am motivated and artists are motivated. iam not a
institution that needs to run and run...i am (try to!) free in doing when
and what I want. Thats possible, because the rent for the room is cheap.

-Does your curatorial practice have a specific orientation and is it based
on an established model of curating?

A see my self as a artist. in the way a create a programm, in the way i
document. in the way of stand in front. i liked the idea of salons, the
places runed mostly by women, many of them jewish, in the early 20century in
europe (paris, gertrude stein) and the u.states. i allways wanted to have a
salon. its something in the way of bringing Art&Life together. With my
family, with friendship.
i decide who is invited to do a show. as soon the artist are invited, they
do the show independent, i am not curating the show itself. and thats the
interesting thing for the artists. I invite artists to do soloshows. only in
this way artist can be free and get experienced in showing their art in
space, bring an idea to a point, making decicions and selections. in
general, the artist allways show new work, mostly even specially created for
the exhibition in message salon. message salon is a place whre art happens
and is not just represented and reproduced.
I can not give money for the artproduction. I give a social net and a name
and the bowl that keeps together. with some of the artist i work since
almost 10 years. the mixture is importend. to brinhg new and young artists
aswell sshow artists again after a wile. i am not intersting in only new and
young.
friendship and growing together is importend to me as well.

-How does your space interpret ideas about power and politics?

Not especially. but i think, to be in public is an political thing. the
artist show them self: see here we are, we dont hide.
I am part of the culture politics. the message salon and other spaces became
importend for the artscene (and market) in zürich. now they have a budget in
the city to give money to independent spaces.
its both sides. In one way spaces like mine create an artscene, give fresh
food to the artscene. but on the other hand, its sometimes hard to see, how
the market trys to split the scene, and take away the young artists.

-How is your space run financially?

by the audience: we run a bar. we try to sell art.. (whats not offensive,

sometimes there isnt even something to sell) By the artists: they finance
the show themself. if not enough money comes in by selling art and the bar,
the artists have to carry a little part of the deficite. at least, from time
to time I get money from the council /city of zurich). Its money to run the
space. Never enough to pay myself something.

-Describe the artistic scene in your local context

the message salon is an importend space for many zurich based artists. many
of the well known and today sucsessfull artist showed thire first soloshow
in the message salon. some even decided to become artist as a
lifeperspektive, when they where invited at the message salon. Still its
allmost the only place in zurich, where young artists are invited to show a
soloshow.

-Does your space have a specific policy regarding publications?

no. its a question of money. there is documentation. Anyway are to many
art-book-publications around...
Does your space promote the insertion of local artistic production into
a global context? How and why?
message salon is a verry zürich-local based space. i dont have money to
invite artists from abroad. but there are conections to spaces around
europe. but no collaborations.