Symposium: The Vasulkas – Preserving Legacy, Nordic House, Reykjavík
April 29, 2025
Saturday, May 10, 2025
The Nordic House, Reykjavík, Iceland
1 - 6 p.m.
Tickets: Admission is free, tickets can be reserved here:
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Symposium: The Vasulkas – Preserving Legacy
Conservation of digital and time-based media, in context with Woody Vasulka's installation, The Brotherhood.
A rare gathering of leading voices in time-based media art and conservation, celebrating and examining the groundbreaking legacy of Steina and Woody Vasulka.
Presented by The Vasulka Foundation and BERG Contemporary.

The Vasulka Foundation and BERG Contemporary are proud to present a symposium highlighting the dynamic impact of Steina and Woody Vasulka on the world of video art and the conservation of digital and time-based media, in the context of Woody Vasulka's magnum opus,
The Brotherhood (1990–1998), currently on view at BERG Contemporary.

The symposium brings together prominent figures from the art world and media conservation to exchange their insights and expertise, and explore the pioneering work of Steina and Woody Vasulka, their lasting impact on contemporary art and technology, and the challenges and opportunities involved in preserving and interpreting time-based media artworks, focusing on
The Brotherhood.

Symposium Speakers & Participants:
Patrícia Falcão, Time-based Media Conservator, Acquisitions and Collection Care, Tate, UK
Joey Heinen, Digital Preservation Manager, LACMA – Los Angeles County Museum of Art, US
Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir, Founder and Director of BERG Contemporary, IS
Christopher King, Assistant Time-based Media Conservator, Acquisitions, Tate, UK
George Morris, Time-based Media Conservator, Exhibitions and Displays, Tate, UK
Margit Rosen, Art Historian and Curator, ZKM – International Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe, DE
Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Art Historian and Former Director of the National Gallery of Iceland, IS
Kristín Scheving, Director of LÁ Art Museum and Director of the Vasulka Foundation, IS
Moderated by Halla Þórlaug Óskarsdóttir, writer and cultural critic


Program Schedule:
1:00 p.m.: Screening of Cantaloup (1980) – a glimpse into the practice of the Vasulkas.
1:30 p.m.: Welcoming address by Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir (BERG Contemporary) and Kristín Scheving (LÁ Art Museum, Vasulka Foundation).
1:45 p.m.:
The Vasulkas Then and NowKristín Scheving reflects on the practice of the Vasulkas, featuring a conversation with Steina Vasulka.
2:10 p.m.:
Re-making of The Brotherhood by Ingibjörg Jónsdóttir
2:30 p.m.: Three presentations from Time-based Conservators at Tate:
The Contexts of Preservation, and the Impacts of Change by Patrícia Falcão,
Electric Dreams: The Things That Kept Me Up at Night by George Morris,
Contingency, Conservation and Control Systems by Christopher King
3:15 p.m.: Coffee break and refreshments.
3:45 p.m.:
All in the Family: The Genealogy of The Brotherhood by Joey Heinen (LACMA).
4:05 p.m.:
A Story Among Friends: Steina and Woody Vasulka and Peter Weibel by Margit Rosen (ZKM).
4:25 p.m.: Panel Discussion / Q&A featuring all speakers and special guest Halldór Björn Runólfsson.
5:00 p.m.: BERG Contemporary welcomes guests to
The Brotherhood (1990–1998), with light refreshments and a conversation with Robert O’Kane, technical specialist who oversaw the technical aspects of the installation process

Admission is free,
tickets can be reserved here*.

For further information on the event, please contact:
gallery@bergcontemporary.is
BERG  Contemporary
BERG Contemporary
Smiðjustígur 10
Klapparstígur 16
101 Reykjavík
Iceland
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