From Institutional Critique to Institutional Adaptation. Staking the Ground to Understand the Role of Institutions for Artistic Interventions

Artistic interventions at the intersection of the political and artistic field find themselves embedded in complex institutional settings. The degree to which actors engage with certain institutions and leave out others vary considerably. Political institutions and institutions of control play a role, particularly for those actors that seek leverage in the political field. On the other hand, cultural institutions and funding institutions are more important for actors bound to the art field. Media institutions and cooperating institutions, however, will be relevant for most interventions. The ways in which actors factor in or address institutions are bound to established repertoires of confrontation and cooperation. Artistic interventions find and use institutional opportunities to give voice to critique from within institutions and from outside. Borrowing from field theory, the theory of strategic action fields and interactionist approaches, the paper seeks to map the institutional landscape that actors planning and performing artistic interventions face. It also lays out interactive routines and adaptations that are visible in the field.