The organisation
conference
Swarm potential
2012
BREDA - The envisioned conference had the theme of Swarm Potential. The former MOTI, Museum of The Image in Breda, was to be transformed into a conference venue. This unique exchange of knowledge was to be realized in collaboration with a diverse range of interested parties, such as people working at companies and other organizations.
BILDERBERG CONFERENCES - This artistic proposal was inspired by the way Bilderberg conferences become visible to us. At these secret conferences, politicians, scientists, CEOs, and other influential figures meet in secret to reach agreements. The participants in these conferences are not elected democratically, and the meetings are shrouded in secrecy. 'The Organization Conference' was a reenactment and aimed to utilize these characteristics.
THE ORGANISATION CONFERENCE – for this reenactment, we would temporarily transform the MOTI museum in Breda into a conference venue. I wanted to do this with the help of local entrepreneurs. Participants with interesting ideas from all over the country would stay here. For three days, the museum would offer every comfort to discuss current societal challenges. Through a national campaign, interested parties would be invited to submit their ideas. From all these submissions, 147 participants would be selected. In doing so, we followed the number of participants as at the Bilderberg conference of 2012.
SWARM POTENTIAL - The theme of this conference was Swarm Potential. The research focused on the possibilities of knowledge sharing within informal collaboration. I founded 'The Organization' in 2011 to make knowledge and resources available for the cultural innovation of our society. Whereas companies strive for profit for their shareholders, 'The Organization' focuses, in an embedded manner, on improving the quality of the living environment.
With a team of experts, I explored the possibilities of organizing this conference. Involved in this process were Mieke Gerritzen, Renée Frissen, Loek Grootjans, Sarah Sluimer, and Robbert van Heuven. After a year of preparation the museum's management had to decide to abandon this plan in February 2013. This was primarily due to a lack of financial support.
Sincerely, Edwin Stolk.
