Manifesta is a pan-European event,which aims to be open, fresh and 'alternative'. Through publications, seminars, workshops and a massive exhibition it will serve as a stimulus to the free exchange of people, ideas and works of art.

The aims of Manifesta

Manifesta will encourage reflection on a wide range of cultural, philosophical, political, historical and social issues relating to contemporary art in Europe.
Through its charter and its organisational structure it will maintain the maximum independence from political, commercial and sectarian influences.

Its Committee of Honour, International Board, Advisory Board and National Committee guarantee both independence and organisational continuity.
Independent curatorial teams will be appointed for specific projects and fixed terms of office only. This means that successive editions of Manifesta´s biennial exhibition of young and emerging artists will vary in curatorial and thematic approach.
The European Art Manifestation Foundation which organises Manifesta will work with all organisations and individuals willing to collaborate without prejudice or precondition, but will question established notions (aesthetic or otherwise).
It will have no part in organising prizes or competitions or supporting national rivalries. Manifesta aims to transgress the existing regional, social, linguistic and economic barriers in Europe.

It will give wider currency to fringe areas of European culture and place the artist at the heart of a continuing dialogue with curators, critics and a wider public. In this way, and through demonstrating the pluralism of contemporary art and its openness to contemporary realities, Manifesta will exemplify the important role that young artists can play in helping to make the new Europe a more exciting and culturally diverse place in which to live.

Statement of the Advisory Board of MANIFESTA, Summer 1994.

The inner dynamics of

Manifesta is not only an art show. The exhibition MANIFESTA I in Rotterdam in the summer of 1996, will be the climax to an intensive dialogue about new developments in the visual arts and will represent the first fruit of a new type of collaboration. Manifesta is a biennial event. It must have the ability to reinvent itself for each new edition. Subsequent events will takeplace in different regions of Europe. However, it is intended that a permanent administrative base for Manifesta should be established in the Netherlands, as a means of ensuring organisational continuity. For the necessary flow of information we use the most effective means of modern communication: Electronic Mail, access to the Internet and Multimedia data carriers such as CD-ROM.

Open House Meetings

The process towards the exhibition of MANIFESTA I in Rotterdam 1996 is as worthfull as the exhibition itself. The goal is to make the process more tranparent, namely toinvolve an interested public into the laboratory function of making an exhibition. An Open House should be an intimate gathering where people interact about art and society.
At the Open House meetings one or two members of the curatorial team of Manifesta will stimulate a discussion with the public in order to exchange ideas about the expectations and the principles of Manifesta.

Open House Events

Open Houses have been held in:

• CAC-Moscow
• Ludwig Museum Budapest
• Moderna Museet Stockholm
• De Unie Rotterdam
• De Beurs Amsterdam
• Soros Center for Contemporary Art, Ljubljana