Don’t Agonize, Organize! The 6th edition of POPPOSITIONS takes place from 20 to 23 April at ING Art Center

The sixth edition of POPPOSITIONS, taking place from 20 to 23 April, will gather 21 galleries, project spaces and artist initiatives at the ING Art Center in Brussels. POPPOSITIONS is more than an art fair and aims to occupy an independent and critical position. It encourages new, experimental and innovative approaches to the art market and is both a curated exhibition and an ongoing critical dialogue.

The 2017 edition is hosted at Hotel Coudenberg (ING Art Center). The building is located right at the heart of Brussels’ museums quarter on Place Royale, opposite from Royal Fine Art Museum, Magritte Museum and BOZAR, at a walking distance from the Sablon neighbourhood. The aspiration of POPPOSITIONS is strengthened throughout acting from within these significant institutional structures.

Strenghts of the fair:

After 6 years, POPPOSITIONS has become the leading critical fair for contemporary art.
Being independent, experimental and niche, POPPOSITIONS gathers the artists and their gallerists before their breakthrough.
This 6th edition is more than ever a curated exhibition – assembled by curator Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk –, rather than a combination of individual white booths.
This year, POPPOSITIONS is located right at the heart of Brussels' museums quarter on Place Royal, opposite from the Royal Fine Art Museum, Magritte Museum and BOZAR
POPPOSITIONS takes place at the ING Art Center, acting from within the significant institutional structures to encourage new, experimental and critical approaches to the art market
With only 21 participants, POPPOSITIONS is more about content than about commerce
The fair is a true discovery for both professionals and amateurs, collectors and art lovers

POPPOSITIONS is not looking to erect additional walls, but rather go beyond the esthetic of the white booth and respond to that which is given, to make an integral presentation in which matters coalesce and diverge. The fair accommodates art’s vitality to trigger responses where none have been called for and confronts what’s been taken for granted.

POPPOSITIONS was established in 2011 as a counterpoint to mainstream art fairs, and has grown as the leading alternative market for contemporary art. In the past five years, POPPOSITIONS has been dealing with questions of artistic agency, self-organisation, cynicism and criticality in order to shape its profile within the cultural and economic landscape.

POPPOSITIONS strongly believes in a collaborative approach, by being quick on its feet and working together with those initiatives, artists, curators and collectors that jointly pursue to rise to the occasion and grapple with the complexity of our current social and political climate. It attracts wide support from the art sector and serves as an inspirational format for new alternative art fairs throughout Europe. This year’s jury consisted of artist Kasper Bosmans, artist and curator Jo-ey Tang and curator Elise Lammer with the support of Niekolaas Johannes Lekkerkerk (The Office for Curating, NL), who has been appointed as artistic director. With the leitmotiv of Don’t Agonize, Organize as a leading principle, the jury has sought for proposals that steer and reinvent the political imagination by proposing diverse forms of political opposition that are rich in alternatives, concrete in propositions, and delivered through everyday projects. On this premise, the jury has selected the following 21 project spaces, artist initiatives and galleries that re-envision what it means to be grounded, accountable and active as part of a community with shared hopes and aspirations:

2017 POPPOSITIONS Participants: