Roundtables: Artists’ experience of a Biennale

VENUE: Mudam, 3 Park Drai Eechelen, Luxembourg

Roundtables is a programme created by Mudam Luxembourg and Casino Luxembourg – Forum d'art contemporain, and designed to be a friendly space for discussing contemporary art. Our shared objective is to demystify contemporary art, encourage dialogue and foster an environment conducive to genuine interaction.

The idea is simple: let's gather around a table with the Luxembourg art scene at its centre, to discuss, listen and reflect on contemporary art. Everyone is welcome, whether you are an artist, a cultural figure, or simply interested in the relationship between contemporary art and the world around us. Through short presentations followed by open conversation, Roundtables invites you to ask questions, debate and discover new perspectives.
 
‘How do artists respond to social change? What goes on behind the scenes at an exhibition?’ Each session focuses on a specific theme, presented by guest speakers and members of the teams from both institutions. 
 
This series creates an atmosphere in which these issues can be discussed openly and freely, allowing conversations to flow naturally. It strengthens existing networks within the Luxembourg art community and encourages the creation of new ones. It provides a space for learning, curiosity and the exchange of ideas, bringing together all citizens eager for a shared exploration of the world of contemporary art.

Session 1: Artists’ experience of a Biennale 

This first session focuses on the artist’s perspective and subjective experience of participating in a contemporary art biennial. What does the preparation process entail? What impact can such an event have on an artist's career? What does it mean to represent Luxembourg in a context such as the Venice Biennale? The conversation will also examine the various spaces and venues that artists have worked in over time, including the evolution and relocation of the Luxembourg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Biographies:

The artistic works of Marco Godinho (b. 1978, Salvaterra de Magos, Portugal), a Luxembourger with Portuguese roots, often have a personal, poetic and philosophical dimension. The artist not only questions concepts such as time, travel and memory, but also encourages us to perceive what all too often escapes our attention. With subtle sensitivity to the expressiveness of the elements he uses, Godinho creates metaphorical works whose imagery responds to our desires and dreams.

Andrea Mancini. (b. 1989) is a Brussels-based, Italian Luxembourgish artist and musician. His work explores the intersections of sound, space and materiality, transforming overlooked materials into resonating, performative surfaces. Using sensorial mediums, sculptural and spatial interventions, he creates environments that invite active engagement and embodied listening. His installations blur the boundaries between architecture, sound and presence – spaces that respond to movement, vibration, and proximity. Whether activated by himself or others, they become sites of sensory tension, dialogue and shared experience, challenging how we inhabit and perceive the built world.

Since the early 2000s Su-Mei Tse (b. 1973, Luxembourg) has developed an oeuvre that is informed by her training in visual arts and music as well as by her cosmopolitan European and Asian background. Her deeply poetic videos, sculptures and installations reveal the unfolding of time and the subjectivity of experience. Much of her work is concerned with acoustics, but, rather than as a recurring theme, she uses sound for its distinctly evocative aspects and as a prism through which she contemplates the world.