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In the autumn of 2024, a pilot project was launched focusing on the legacy of the artist duo Åsa Lie (b. 1959) and Jadran Sturm (1957 – 2019). The project partners were AMVB, CKV (Centrum Kunstarchieven Vlaanderen), and Jubilee – Platform for Artistic Research.
The project focused on 18 key works from their oeuvre, which were inventoried, repackaged, and digitized with the support of AMVB and CKV. These works were selected in consultation with several experts, including Simon Delobel (KIOSK Ghent), Bas Hendrikx (KANAL), Ronny Heiremans (Jubilee – Platform for Artistic Research), and Lotte Beckwé (art historian). The aim was to create a representative overview of their practice, covering different media, periods, and themes.
Inspiring moments took place during presentations, artist talks, and workshops at M HKA, KASK School of Art, MAX Brussels, and LUCA School of Art Brussels & Ghent. Students and artists engaged with the archive and activated selected works. This exchange — particularly with a younger generation — truly brought the archive to life and was especially meaningful for Åsa Lie. In this context, it also became clear that many works remain highly relevant today. One example is 61 Days Proceeding, Sociological Performance, created in Greenland in 1991, which addresses the geopolitical situation there and is gaining renewed attention in the current political climate.
Another component of the project focused on oral history. Several art historians, curators, and artists — including Simon Delobel (KIOSK Ghent), Raf Wollaert (University of Antwerp), Scott William Raby (artist and researcher), Nele Luyts (CKV), Ronny Heiremans (Jubilee – Platform for Artistic Research), Lotte Beckwé (art historian), and Merzedes Sturm-Lie (artist and daughter) — conducted interviews with Åsa Lie. These conversations form a rich source of insight into the personal, historical, and political contexts of their practice.
Finally, the website was completely redesigned and developed into a multilingual digital archive, making key works, interview excerpts, and digitized archival material publicly accessible: www.asaliejadransturm.com/nl
. Additional works will be added over time.
This long-term collaboration now culminates in the exhibition HUMANITAS, on view from April 2 to May 29 at AMVB. The exhibition presents two key works from Sturm-Lie’s oeuvre. 61 Days Proceeding, Sociological Performance (1991) explores the geopolitical situation in Greenland through interpersonal relationships, while Humanitas (1995) examines the relationship between the public and the private through personal artefacts and broader reflections on humanism. Notably, neither work has been exhibited before.
The exhibition is realised by Lotte Beckwé, Merzedes Sturm-Lie, and Åsa Lie, in dialogue with the AMVB archive. The opening is accompanied by a cassette release of previously unreleased sound works by Lie and Sturm, issued by the German label RFTS, as well as a performance by Merzedes Sturm-Lie, in which she reactivates her parents’ archive.
Several public events are also organised in connection with the exhibition, including a lace-making workshop on Saturday April 18, led by the Atelier Handgemaakt Kantwerk of Rood Klooster. Instead of a fee, the proceeds will be donated, at their request, to the Cancer Foundation. As places are limited, early registration is recommended.
On Tuesday April 21 at 2 pm, Merzedes Sturm-Lie will give a guided tour of the exhibition. The exhibition runs until Friday May 29 at AMVB.